vikingssportsn HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– Hopewell’s Junior Varsity Girls Volleyball team (5-4) controlled Ellwood City from the start Thursday night, earning a 25-11, 25-13 straight-set victory.
The Vikings jumped ahead quickly in the opening set behind Abby Babinsack at the net and strong serving form Ava Ray and Liliana Katcher. After Ellwood City briefly cut into the lead, Lillian Otto stopped the run with a strong swing before Brooke Otto answered an ace.
Hopewell pulled away from there. Babinsack and Alyssa Phillips supplied the offense at the net, while Katcher continued a strong night in service receive. One of Hopewell’s best sequences came when Katcher handled a difficult serve, Brooke Otto delivered the set and Phillips finished with a strong swing. Katcher eventually closed the 25-11 win with an ace.
The Viking were just as sharp in the second set, racing to a 6-0 lead. Lillian Otto, Babinsack and Ellie McCoy provided kills, while Brooke Otto mixed in an ace and a well-placed one-handed dump. Lily Cain made several great defensive reads as well.
Hopewell’s front row took over late, with Lillian Otto and McCoy putting away overpasses before Babinsack added an ace during the closing stretch. Kelsey Homick came off the bench and immediately forced an error from the service line as the Vikings finished off the 25-13 victory.
It was a controlled, consistent performance from Hopewell, which served aggressively, passed well and turned defense into offense throughout the night. Every Hopewell JV player contributed to the night, making it a total team victory. The Vikings stayed in command from beginning to end and showed what they can look like when all phases of their game are working together.
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Hopewell gets a breather next week, with just a single contest on Thursday (October 1st) at home vs. Mohawk.
Here’s the play-by-play recap:
Set #1
1-0 Hopewell in front early. Abby Babinsack with nice touch on a kill off the Brooke Otto set.
2-0 Ava Ray with an ace
3-1 A wide return from Ellwood City
4-1 Babinsack with another kill, getting a piece of the backrow.
5-1 Liliana Katcher on the serve, forcing the Ellwood error
7-1 Katcher with an ace
8-1 A defensive scramble from Hopewell just gets over the net, forcing the error.
9-4 Lillian Otto with a nice hit, causing the error and stopping a run
10-7 Another Ellwood run, stopped by a long serve.
11-7 Brooke Otto with an ace
12-8 A nice read by Gianna Rossi on a long serve
14-8 Lillian Otto with an ace
15-8 A nice defensive and offensive sequence from Hopewell. Timeout Ellwood.
16-8 A great tip at the net from Brooke Otto
17-9 Sophia Catanzarite with a nice push shot to the back corner, forcing the error.
18-9 Babinsack with a nice swing, catching the sideline.
19-9 Bella Cipolla on the serve, forcing an Ellwood error.
20-9 Katcher with an excellent pass on a tough hit, that Otto sets to Alyssa Phillips for nice
swing
22-9 Babinsack with a big swing, that Ellwood returns as an overpass right to Phillips for a
smash
23-10 Babinsack with a kill on an Ellwood overpass.
24-11 Phillips with a nice kill off the Sam Holsinger set.
25-11 Katcher with an ace to finish out a strong Set #1
Set #2
1-0 Hopewell in front early on the Ellwood serving error
2-0 Katcher with a nice pass to Brooke Otto, setting Lillian Otto for the swing.
4-0 Katcher with an ace
6-0 Babinsack with a nice shot through the block
7-1 A nice read by Lily Cain on the long serve
8-1 Another nice read by Cain, this time on the side
9-1 Lillian Otto with a strong kill to the backrow
10-5 Ellie McCoy with a strong hit for a kill off the Otto set
11-5 Brooke Otto with a strong serve, causing the error
12-5 Otto with an ace
14-7 A great rally from Hopewell, ending with Katcher bump setting Phillips for a tip shot
16-8 Holsinger on the serve, Brooke Otto with a one-handed dump just inside the sideline
17-9 Babinsack tips one over left-handed, fooling the defense.
18-9 Katcher with an ace. Timeout Ellwood.
19-11 Katcher with a good read on a high arching serve
20-11 Lillian Otto drops the overpass for a point
21-11 McCoy takes a turn rejecting an overpass
22-11 Lillian Otto connects again on a hard kill to the backrow
23-11 Babinsack continuing a strong serving run with an ace.
24-11 Kelsey Homick in to serve, forcing the Ellwood error.
25-13 Hopewell finishes off the Set and Match for the win.
