vikingssportsn Hopewell – Hopewell (4-5/3-3) battled through two tight sets before putting together a dominant finish Thursday night, sweeping Ellwood City (25-21, 25-22 and 25-6).
The Vikings controlled much of the opening set but had to withstand a late Wolverines rally. Ellwood City erased a 16-12 deficit and eventually took a 20-19 lead before Hopewell responded.
Jiselle Cain delivered consecutive kills to put the Vikings back in front, 21-20, and Hopewell closed the set on a 6-1 run. Cain finished it with a kill to the back corner for the 25-21 victory.
The second set followed a similar path. Hopewell raced to an 8-1 lead behind Hannah McDowell, Avery Boyd and Cain, only to see Ellwood City battle back and eventually take a 17-16 advantage.
From there, the team traded points through six ties before Hopewell made its move at 22-22. McDowell found the back corner to regain the lead, then fired a great serve, causing an Ellwood overpass that Addison Blosnick soundly hammered to the floor. McDowell followed with an ace to finish the 25-22 win.
After being pushed throughout the first two sets, Hopewell left no doubt in the third. Ayla Pisano took over from the service line, serving 17 consecutive pints as the Vikings turned an early lead into a commanding 21-2 advantage. Pisano mixed in several aces during the run, while McDowell repeatedly found the floor from the left side. Boyd and Cain teamed up for a block, and Tessa Burgess helped anchor a strong defensive effort.
Marina Pinchotti added an ace late before McDowell fittingly closed the night with a backrow kill for the 25-6 victory.
The first two sets were certainly closer than Hopewell would have liked, as the Vikings struggled to maintain separation after building early leads. The good news is that changed in the third set, where Hopewell showed what this group is capable of when it plays with purpose.
Hopewell was aggressive from the service line, sharp defensively and decisive at the net, turning a competitive match into a commanding 25-6 final set. Finding that level of play more consistently will be the challenge moving forward.
Hopewell gets a much-needed break next week, with just one match on the schedule, Thursday, 10/1 vs Mohawk. The lighter week comes at a good time for the Vikings, providing an opportunity to rest and get some injured players healthy for the stretch run.
Here is the play-by-play recap:
Set #1
1-0 Hopewell on the board first with the Jiselle Cain kill.
2-1 Hannah McDowell with a big kill off the Ayla Pisano set
3-1 A heads up play by Avery Boyd to one hand an overpass to the middle
4-3 Avery Boyd with a hard shot to the back row for a kill
5-3 Marina Pinchotti on the serve, forcing an Ellwood error
6-3 Pinchotti with an ace
8-4 McDowell with an ace
9-6 Ariana Fischer with a hard kill off the Pisano middle set.
11-7 Addison Blosnick hammers a kill through the block
12-8 A beautiful bump set from Pisano that Blosnick flips to the floor
13-8 Cain with a quick flip on an overpass that went back and forth
14-10 Cain rejects another overpass
15-11 Boyd with a nice cross-court shot for a kill
16-12 McDowell with a nice tip shot from the right side
16-16 Ellwood with a 4-point to tie up the match
17-16 Boyd this time with the right-side tip shot
18-16 Boyd on the serve, forcing the error. Timeout Ellwood.
19-17 McDowell with the backrow kill, set by Pisano.
19-19 Ellwood ties it back up
19-20 Ellwood grabs the lead
20-20 Cain with a nice kill just catching the backline
21-20 Cain with another kill, off the set from Pisano and pass from Cici Smetana
22-20 A back and forth rally ending with an Ellwood error
23-20 Hopewell regaining control. McDowell with a big swing leading to an error
24-20 Hopewell gets to set point
25-21 Cain with a kill to the back corner to end Set #1
Set #2
1-1 McDowell with the kill after a great pass from Tessa Burgess
2-1 Pisano with a nice serve forcing the error
3-1 Boyd with hard kill off the Pinchotti set
4-1 Cain with a hard kill after an extended back and forth rally
6-1 Ellwood with a long return. Timeout Wolverines.
7-1 Boyd and Cain team up for a block
8-1 McDowell buries an overpass inside the 10-foot line
8-7 Ellwood on a 6-point run
9-7 A nice read by Pinchotti & Burgess on a long serve
10-7 Pinchotti with an ace
11-7 Another nice serve from Pinchotti forcing the error
12-7 McDowell with a kill off the Pisano set
13-7 Fischer with a big swing that gets returned as an overpass that she hammers again
14-7 Pinchotti with an ace. Timeout Ellwood.
15-10 Boyd with a nice right side hit for a point
16-17 Ellwood on another run, grabbing the lead. Timeout Hopewell.
17-17 Ellwood with a long return
18-17 Fischer with an ace
18-18 Tied up again
19-18 Blosnick hammers the kill through the block
19-19 Tied up again
20-20 McDowell with a nice shot that finds the floor
21-20 Pisano on the serve. Burgess with an excellent read on a long return
21-21 Tied up again
22-21 McDowell again comes up with big shot.
22-22 Tied up again
23-22 McDowell with a heads-up push shot to the back corner
24-22 McDowell with a nice serve, overpassed right into Blosnick’s swing.
25-22 McDowell with an ace to finish off Set #2
Set #3
1-0 Hopewell in front early on the Ellwood net error
2-0 Pisano with the kill, catching the back corner
3-1 McDowell with a big swing, forcing the Ellwood error
6-1 Pisano with back-to-back aces
7-1 Burgess with an awesome defensive set, 3 passes on that rally. Timeout Ellwood.
8-1 Boyd and Cain team up again for the block
9-1 McDowell skies into the set for an awesome outside kill
11-1 McDowell again with a big swing.
12-1 McDowell again, feeling it from the left side.
15-1 Pisano continuing great serving accuracy to extend the lead. Timeout Ellwood.
16-1 Cain getting into the action with a nice kill
17-1 Pisano with an ace
18-1 Burgess with a great read on a long return
19-1 Pisano with another ace
20-1 McDowell with another great kill off the Pisano set.
21-2 Pisano’s serving run comes to an end after 17 straight.
22-2 Pinchotti with an ace
23-2 Addison Pavlisko with a great pass leading to the Ellwood error
24-3 Hopewell gets to match point.
25-6 McDowell ends the Set and Match with a backrow kill.
