Rocket aces pound Jets
By Brandon Veale - bveale@dailypress.netArticle Photos
POWERS - Rapid River shined behind the service line Thursday, which led to a 3-1 (25-27, 25-12, 25-21, 25-19) dual-conference volleyball victory over North Central.
The Rockets notched 22 service aces, led by six from freshman Heather Sanderson and five each from seniors Jessika Metter and Kelsey Ignat.
"Overall, our serving was on and I was very pleased with it," Rockets coach Jackie Augustine said.
The Rockets found themselves on the defensive early, as North Central had solid serves of their own from Cassandra Deno, Lexi Rusch and Kelley Kleikamp. They took an early lead in game one and held on for the victory.
"They walked on that court confident and ready," North Central coach Melissa Egner said.
Rapid fought back, taking a 6-2 lead in game two and building from there. Sanderson finished it off with a seven-point serving run, including two aces and a kill.
"She's an athlete and it shows," Augustine said of Sanderson. "I only expect for her to get better out there."
The Rockets built another big lead, going up 16-8 in game three as Metter and Ignat each dealt the Jets a pair of aces. North Central would get no closer than 22-20. In the final game, a four-point burst to 20-14 grounded the Jets for good.
Augustine said the Rockets stepped up their efforts once they dropped game one.
"I think that they didn't expect to lose and when they did, it shocked them," she said.
The Rockets have placed heavy emphasis on serve receive in early practices, and it did not fail them. Sophomore libero Katie Parotta, who learned the position earlier this week, had a team-high 22 digs. Senior Joanna Cunningham was all over the court providing vocal and statistical leadership with seven kills. She also added 19 digs.
"Joanna's taking being a senior and a leader on the team literally," Augustine said.
Despite the loss, Egner said the Jets showed significant improvement from their season-opening defeat to Superior Central last week.
"I'm feeling really good with their efforts. These girls have worked really hard for me," she said.
Deno led the Jets in assists (eight) and blocks (four) and shared the top spot in kills (five) with Kleikamp. Rusch had six assists, three aces and three digs.
The Jets, who won the JV match 2-0 (26-24, 25-23) travel to Superior Central Monday, while the Rockets are tentatively slated to open their newly-renovated gym Tuesday against Engadine.
