Flyers sweep Wildcats

MARIA STEIN - The sixth-ranked Marion Local volleyball team kicked off a stretch of five games in eight days with a sweep of 15th-ranked Fort Loramie last Saturday.

The Flyers added another sweep on Tuesday, defeating Minster 25-9, 25-18, 25-9 in MAC play at the Hangar.

"This is a big stretch of games for us," Marion Local coach Erica Schulze said. "We played Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. I think it's a good stretch for us to build momentum going forward. We know every night, no matter who's across the net for us, whether it's a MAC or a non-MAC opponent, we have a tough schedule. We're just looking to get better every single game, and I feel like we're doing that."

Aubrey Thobe led a balanced Flyer offensive attack with 10 kills. Carrie Fesenmyer had nine while Alana Pohlman and Brooke Homan tallied eight apiece.

Fesenmyer had three early kills for Marion as it got out to a 6-2 lead in the opening set. Thobe added three kills - and the Flyers' defense was flawless - as the advantage swelled to 17-5. Fesenmeyer and Thobe were two of five Flyers to have two-or-more kills in the opening set (the list also included Pohlman, Grace Knapke and Homan).

The second set was tied nine times. Minster held a 17-15 advantage, but Marion went on a 10-1 run to close the set.

"I told the girls going into the game that we had to execute on all of our opportunities, whether that was in serve receive or down balls or free balls that Minster was sending us, we had to push to be in system and we had to push to be aggressive," Schulze said. "I thought we did that pretty well. We were consistent in serving aggressive, consistent in hitting aggressive, and I'm happy how we came out and executed."

The Flyers shot out to an 8-0 lead in the third set, thanks to a long service run - and two aces - by Natalie Rethman, a block and kill by Thobe and another spike by Knapke. The Wildcats never got closer than five after that.

"The way we came out tonight, it just looked like we had no rhythm, we had no momentum," Minster coach Cami Garman said. "We have been battling sickness and injury this week and I think that kind of showed. But when you put new people in, you expect them to perform. They're here all day, everyday. It just wasn't happening tonight.

"I think we left a lot on the table," Garman continued. "One of the biggest things we were going to have to do tonight was start our defense at the block. We weren't finding our hitters. A team like Marion that can pass, they're going to find their hitters and they're going to hit, hit, hit. When you're struggling defensively at the net, that's going to make it a long night for you."

Rethman finished with a game-high 35 assists and added three aces. Fesenmyer posted a game-high four aces.

Averi Wold had a team-high five kills for Minster and Brynn Oldiges added four. Broke Wolf dished out seven assists and Emily Stubbs led the team with 18 digs.

Both teams return to action on Thursday, with the Wildcats hosting rival New Bremen and the Flyers traveling to Delphos St. John's. In the Marion-St. John's match, the varsity will play first at 5:30 p.m.