Mustangs rally, then put Bees away
Strongsville volleyball team overcomes slow starts in key GCC showdown
Strongsville sophomore Sam Csire swings for one of her match-high 19 kills in the Mustangs’ Greater Cleveland Conference win over Medina. Photo by BRUCE BILLOW
After watching her team spot Medina early leads in each of the first two sets Tuesday, Strongsville senior libero Ashley Quirino said enough was enough.
“We decided it was time to push the pedal and show them who we are in the third set,” she said. “We wanted to make a statement.”
Did they ever.
The host Mustangs wasted no time in ending the suspense, breaking out to two big leads en route to a 25-8 win in the third set to finally finish off the gritty Bees, who had forced the Mustangs to rally for identical 25-19 victories in the first two sets.
“Medina really brought it tonight. They came after us,” said Strongsville coach TR Harker, whose squad improved to 10-1 overall and 5-0 in the Greater Cleveland Conference as it seeks a GCC title repeat. “We were struggling with our serves but we stayed with it. We focused on running a fast offense, communicating and serve receiving. We have dynamic hitters. Once they get going they’re hard to stop.”
The Mustangs hitters took a while to get cranked up, but once they did, there was little the Bees could do to stop them.
Sophomore Samantha Csire (19 kills), senior Kirsten Powell (12 kills), sophomore Amy Regrut and senior Jenna Miller took over after Strongsville – whose 35-assist performance from senior Christina Grecol set up a lot of the put-aways – fell behind in the first two sets, pounding the Medina defense with blistering spikes to rally the Mustangs to a 2-0 match lead.
The Bees (8-4, 3-2 GCC) led 9-4 in the first set and 8-3 in the second, but each time the Mustangs roared back behind the big guns on their front line. And once Strongsville got things rolling downhill, the Bees were unable to stop the momentum.
“Our hitters started putting the ball down and we came together,” said Quirino, who finished the match with 10 digs. “We just tried to stay calm.”
Following their 8-3 deficit in the second set, the Mustangs outscored the Bees 48-19 the rest of the way. Leading 3-2 in the third set, Strongsville freshman Madison Quirino scored on a tip to make it 4-2 and the Mustangs never looked back.
“Our offense was on fire tonight,” Harker said. “Kirsten Powell hit .640 tonight, which is ridiculous. Once we got it going we were able to put it to them.”
“We decided it was time to push the pedal and show them who we are in the third set,” she said. “We wanted to make a statement.”
Did they ever.
The host Mustangs wasted no time in ending the suspense, breaking out to two big leads en route to a 25-8 win in the third set to finally finish off the gritty Bees, who had forced the Mustangs to rally for identical 25-19 victories in the first two sets.
“Medina really brought it tonight. They came after us,” said Strongsville coach TR Harker, whose squad improved to 10-1 overall and 5-0 in the Greater Cleveland Conference as it seeks a GCC title repeat. “We were struggling with our serves but we stayed with it. We focused on running a fast offense, communicating and serve receiving. We have dynamic hitters. Once they get going they’re hard to stop.”
The Mustangs hitters took a while to get cranked up, but once they did, there was little the Bees could do to stop them.
Sophomore Samantha Csire (19 kills), senior Kirsten Powell (12 kills), sophomore Amy Regrut and senior Jenna Miller took over after Strongsville – whose 35-assist performance from senior Christina Grecol set up a lot of the put-aways – fell behind in the first two sets, pounding the Medina defense with blistering spikes to rally the Mustangs to a 2-0 match lead.
The Bees (8-4, 3-2 GCC) led 9-4 in the first set and 8-3 in the second, but each time the Mustangs roared back behind the big guns on their front line. And once Strongsville got things rolling downhill, the Bees were unable to stop the momentum.
“Our hitters started putting the ball down and we came together,” said Quirino, who finished the match with 10 digs. “We just tried to stay calm.”
Following their 8-3 deficit in the second set, the Mustangs outscored the Bees 48-19 the rest of the way. Leading 3-2 in the third set, Strongsville freshman Madison Quirino scored on a tip to make it 4-2 and the Mustangs never looked back.
“Our offense was on fire tonight,” Harker said. “Kirsten Powell hit .640 tonight, which is ridiculous. Once we got it going we were able to put it to them.”