The No. 10 Akron-Westfield volleyball team won an exciting five-set match by a score of 3-2 at Gehlen Catholic on Tuesday night.
The win was Akron-Westfield’s first over Gehlen Catholic since 2016 snapping a streak that started when the players were in elementary school. Akron-Westfield head coach Robyn Van Eldik says she knew the matchup would be tough, but her team was up for the challenge.
The match was intense and close throughout the night, and it saw both teams give all they had to try and win the match. Gehlen Catholic head coach Dan Goebel says he was proud of how the girls kept playing with intensity all night.
The Westerners won the first set by a score of 25-22 and the third set by a score of 25-17. They did that on the back of an offense that saw six hitters record five-or-more kills apiece. Josie Jacobs helped facilitate that offense dishing out 33 assists. Coach Van Eldik says she brings so much to the table as a player.
The match got a little more interesting when Gehlen Catholic took the fourth set by a score of 25-18 to force the fifth set. After a back and forth fifth set, the Westerners came out on top by a score of 15-13. Coach Van Eldik says the difference was her team’s cohesion and communication which has taken time to develop.
Gehlen Catholic had chances to win leading the fifth set 11-10 before ultimately succumbing to Akron-Westfield. Coach Goebel says some better decisions offensively could have made up for the lost points in the fifth set.
The Jays take their first match loss of the year in War Eagle Conference play and drop to 6-1 in the league and 12-10 overall. The road does not get any easier with Gehlen set to match up with No. 10 Hinton on Thursday night. Coach Goebel says the girls just need to play with the energy they played with against Akron-Westfield to give themselves a chance.
The win was Akron-Westfield’s 12th in a row to improve to 15-4 and 6-1 in the War Eagle Conference. That streak has put the state on notice with the IGHSAU ranking the Westerners No. 10 in the latest Class 1A poll. Coach Van Eldik says that does not give the girls a pass to be lazy, but it gives them the opportunity to continue to go out on the court and prove they deserve the ranking.
Akron-Westfield is next in action against Remsen St. Mary’s on Thursday night at 7:00 PM in Akron. Gehlen Catholic’s matchup with Hinton will be broadcast live on KLEM Radio with first serve scheduled for 7:00 PM.
