Indians Sweep Tri-Match with Lewis County, Grafton, Improve to 20-5 Overall
By Chris Johnson on October 14, 2021 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
After cruising to a 25-9 victory in Game 1 against Grafton during Wednesday’s tri-match, the Bridgeport High School volleyball team found itself in an unexpected position.
The host Bearcats took Game 2, 25-18 and were out to a 5-0 lead in the deciding Game 3 before Alexa Martin appeared to have had enough.
Granted, the junior standout didn’t create an Indians' comeback all on her own. Freshman Myleigh Smell’s trend to be at the service line and delivering in the clutch continued and Kaitlyn Lee had a couple of huge defensive plays to help ignite Indians.
But Martin’s all-around play was the sparkplug as BHS scored nine straight after falling behind 5-0 and they would go to win 25-10 to secure the victory and improve to 20-5 for the season.
“That is what Alexa does for us,” BHS coach Ali Burton said. “And that’s why she doesn’t come off the court for us.”
Martin would go to finish the three-game set with the Bearcats with 10 kills, six blocks, four digs and one ace to go along with the on-court leadership her team needed to secure the victory.
Violet Sickles led the Tribe with 12 kills along with two blocks and a pair of aces against Grafton.
Jenna Wood added three kills, while Jacey Lucas and Grace Backus each had two.
Lucas once again led the team in assists with 23. Lee had a team-high six digs. Joslynn Kirsch had three aces and the Indians’ libero Cambria Freeman had four digs, two assists and an ace.
Before the win against Grafton, the Indians never trailed en route to 25-15 and 25-14 victories against Lewis County to open the tri-match.
Martin and Sickles had 12 and 10 kills, respectively, while Lucas had 20 assists and three aces. Freeman chipped in with five digs, two assists and two assists.
Prior to Wednesday’s action, the Indians defeated East Fairmont and Buckhannon-Upshur in a tri-match.
Martin had 10 kills, Sickles had eight kills, Lucas had 17 assists and Kirsch had five aces against the Bees. Against B-U, Martin led the way with 19 kills and three blocks, Sickles and 13 kills, Backus had six kills, Lucas had 28 assists and Kirsch served seven aces.
Last weekend in a tri-match at The Bridge, the Indians swept Greenbrier East and sectional foe University.
Sickles (16), Martin (14) and Backus (5) combined for 35 kills in a win that avenged one of the Indians’ losses earlier in the season. Lucas had 31 assists against the Spartans and Kirsch and Martin each had four aces.
The win against the Hawks saw Sickles and Martin each post 12 kills. Martin also had five blocks and Lucas put up 18 assists.
The Indians’ 14th win of the season cam against Hedgesville where Sickles put down a team-high 12 kills, Martin added nine and Backus had three. Lucas had 23 assists and Sickles and Kirsch each had a pair of aces.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Martin delivering a kill, bottom photo shows the Indians celebrating after a block. Photos courtesy of www.joelaroccaphotography.com
Video highlights from the tri-match available below.
