WILLIAMSTOWN - Senior night turned out just fine for Liz Flowers, Kelli Edman, Courtney Taylor and Haley Gallaher here Thursday as host Williamstown swept Parkersburg Catholic 25-21, 25-12 and 25-23 in Little Kanawha Conference North Division volleyball action.
Flowers, a returning Class A first team all-stater, led the hosts with a match-high 12 kills and added eight service tallies along with an ace. Edman served for nine points, Gallaher a pair and Taylor finished with three downed spikes.
The victory for the Yellowjackets moved first-year head coach Rachelle Pallini's squad to 17-6 overall and 4-1 in the North. Williamstown gets just one day to rest before the Yellowjackets face Ritchie County at 9 a.m. Saturday during the opening round of Parkersburg South's Fall Brawl.
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Photo by Jay W. Bennett
Williamstown senior Kelli Edman makes a pass Thursday night during a Little Kanawha Conference volleyball dual against visiting Parkersburg Catholic.
Yellowjacket setter Kenzie Smith, who had four kills, tallied a match-high two dozen assists while Jessi Kerns chipped in eight assists, a kill and match-highs of both 14 service tallies and five aces. WHS also received a combined 11 downed spikes from Lauren Amos and Lincoln Postlewaite along with a match-best five digs from Brooke Cieslewski.
Parkersburg Catholic did have leads in all three sets, but the Crusaderettes weren't able to muster much of an offensive attack versus the WHS defense. The visitors had just 11 downed spikes with Hannah Fisher (four) and Maddie Roedersheimer (three) leading the way.
Ellen Roedersheimer served PCHS to a 9-6 cushion early in the first set, but a Smith kill gave the hosts the lead for good at 11-10. The Crusaderettes managed to fend off four set points, thanks in part to three service points (two aces) from Amy Tennant, but a soft attack by Flowers was played out of bounds to end it.
A Carley Ellison downed spike gave Williamstown a 1-0 lead and then Kerns followed that up with a trio of service tallies, including consecutive aces, to put the visitors in a 4-0 hole. An ace from Leah Hughes eventually put PCHS ahead 6-5, but that didn't last thanks to Flowers later serving for six straight points to put the 'Jackets ahead for good.
An attack error followed by a Rachel Slone kill gave the Crusaderettes a quick 2-0 advantage in set three. A Fisher kill block and a Slone service tally helped the visitors stay ahead 6-3. That cushion quickly disappeared as Postlewaite, Ellison and Flowers combined for a quartet of kill to square things at 11. The set then had ties at 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22 - thanks to a Tennant ace - before a Flowers kill put WHS ahead for good at 23-22.
Williamstown ended the match when Smith registered a kill from a Kerns assist.
PCHS will try and bounce back at 6 p.m. Monday when it travels to St. Marys to play in a triangular with Wood County Christian.
