Williamstown’s Claire Strobl records one of her match-high 12 kills following a bad pass from Parkersburg Catholic as Crusaderette setter Izzy DeAngelo attempts to get up a block. The defending Class A state champion Yellowjackets swept PCHS on Thursday evening. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
PARKERSBURG — Defending Class A state champion Williamstown opened its campaign Thursday evening with a dominating 25-8, 25-5 and 25-11 sweep of host Parkersburg Catholic.
The 0-5 Crusaderettes of head coach Amanda Weatherwax, who return to action with St. Marys on Wednesday in a tri at Gilmer County, had their lone lead at 1-0 in the third set thanks to an ace by setter Izzy DeAngelo.
Williamstown was able to register 17 aces with setter Kyndra Johnson, who also had a match-high 16 assists, leading the way with eight. Keatyn Haynes added five aces, libero Kamryn Haynes had a trio and Georgie Inman had the other.
“I said it last year, too, the girls work hard,” admitted ‘Jacket boss Rachelle Cole, who received a match-high 12 kills from Claire Strobl while Payton Woodard added 10, Riah Sprouse five and Becca Shamblin three. “I think that pays off.
“A lot of them work all year around and play club ball. When it comes time to get serious they get serious. They come to us and say can we work on this. I want to do better and we work on it. I can’t complain with their work ethic really.”
Strobl’s first downed spike put WHS ahead for good at 2-1 in the opening set and it was quickly 12-3 after Sprouse put one down from a Kamryn Haynes bump set. An ace by Kaity Ross that hit the back line pulled PCHS within nine at 15-6, but Shamblin’s fourth ace of the set made it 21-8 and Strobl finished it off with a tip kill.
In set two, the ‘Jackets got going quick thanks to a Kamryn Haynes ace. Johnson proceeded to register eight straight service points before Keatyn Haynes did the same to make it 20-2. A Morgan Sampson and Deborah Hardbarger double block of Sprouse gave Jocelynn Thorn a service tally to make it 20-4, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Following DeAngelo’s ace to open set three, Williamstown took the lead for good after kills from Shamblin and Woodard, who skied above the net and smashed it to the floor. A kill by Tess Roedersheimer kept the deficit at 6-4 an it was still just a two point hole at 8-6 and 9-7 after downed spikes by Crusaderettes Akhia Miller and Thorn, respectively. However, WHS was just too tough as Kamryn Haynes helped the visitors to a 17-7 advantage with seven straight tallies, including two aces, and Sprouse registered match point via a kill.
“Practice for an hour and just get some reps in and stay focused,” coach Cole said of the plan for today with the ‘Jackets set to compete Saturday in Doddridge County’s Bulldog Bash. “We’d like to have a good tournament.”
Overall, the head coach was more than content with her squad for the first match.
“Our passes could’ve been a little cleaner,” Cole admitted. “We missed some easy serves we should’ve not massed. I think they spread the ball out hitting-wise pretty well so I can’t really complain about that.
“I thought the hitters were pretty aggressive, which is what we’ve been trying to get them to do. We obviously can clean some stuff up. Just keep working.”
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com
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