JOHNSTOWN – The Lady Raiders ended their regular season play with a decisive win over SUNY Delhi on Wednesday evening. They corralled the Lady Broncos with set scores of 25-16, 25-5, and 25-16.
Photo: A Katlyn Pierce kill – other Raiders, from left, are Zara Hyde, Elizabeth Hayward, and Kaylee Robinson
Head Coach Rachael Salvione's team played a smart game and took advantage of their talented and powerful attacking duo of senior Whitney Ostrander and freshman Katlyn Pierce. FM's offense has good balance, but it also has the standout firepower provided by Ostrander and Pierce. The two middle hitters combined for 23 kills and 17 blocks against the visitors from Delhi.
The event was also Senior Night. The seniors were honored before the match, and each senior presented her parents with flowers.
The first set began with a determined Delhi team playing their best volleyball of the night. However, when a Pierce kill put FM ahead 15-13, the Raiders took control and tallied 10 more points while limiting Delhi to just three. Karissa Morey stepped to the service line with the score 21-16. She kept serving well and her teammates closed out the set 25-16.
Photo: Defensive specialist Kaylee Gillen powers a kill shot
Set Two saw the Lady Raiders at their best. FM won the first point, Liz Hayward killed for the second point, Zara Hyde served an ace, and the Raiders were on a roll. A few minutes later, Ostrander killed the ball to end the set 25-5.
The final set began with a kill by Kaylee Gillen, and FM built on that lead. Pierce continued to be a power player, but she used a deft dink shot to give FM an 11-6 lead. Delhi made a good run for a while, and closed the score to 17-14, but the Lady Raiders regained their form and moved out to a 24-16 lead. Then Kaylee Robinson served an ace to the far left corner of Delhi's court, making the final score 25-16.
FM's record is now 19-3. The team will now prep for the Mountain Valley Conference Tournament at SUNY Adirondack this Saturday (start time TBA) and for the Region 3 tourney the following Saturday. The regional event will have the top eight teams competing at Niagara CCC.
C.J. Bonny, website writer
The FM stats are given at the bottom of this web page.
Photo below: Whitney Ostrander with a left-handed kill
Stats: Gillen – 2 aces, 21 digs, 2 kills; Ostrander – 10 kills, 5 blocks; Morey – 3 kills, 4 aces, 3 assists, 3 digs; Hayward – 1 kill, 12 digs, and errorless serving (16 for 16); Pierce – 13 kills, 12 blocks; Robinson – 2 kills, 1 ace, 1 dig; Hyde – 9 digs, 22 assists, 1 ace
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