Holy Name defeats the Struthers varsity volleyball team during round one of sectionals on Thursday, October 16 at West Branch High School.
Going into this game, both teams–Struthers and Holy Name–had a lot at stake with losing this game, meaning their season was over for the year.
Struthers knew going into this game they had to bring their all if they wanted to win, knowing that Holy Name is ranked #20 in Ohio Division IV, while Struthers is only #87. The Wildcats had a rough start in the 1st set, not realizing that this team wasn’t going to go easy on them. The first set ended with the Green Wave winning 25 to 10.
Gianna Martin, junior, felt that the team played best when everyone acted as a team and motivated each other.
“We had the best moments whenever we had a streak of good things. We would always scream and cheer for each other, including the bench,” said Martin.
Going into the second set, Holy Name felt confident in winning the next two sets after their overall win in the first set. Struthers knew they needed to step their game up if they wanted the win. To do that, they continued to work together at their best abilities, ending the 2nd set score being 12 – 25. This meant it was another loss for Struthers.
Martin knew that if she wasn’t going to win for her, she then needed to win for her teammates.
“I wanted to win and also my teammates. If I wasn’t going to play for me, I might as well play for my teammates,” said Martin.
The third set was a struggle for the Wildcats due to being scared that this could be their last set if they don’t win. The final score was 25 – 6, making it a 3 way win for the Green Waves. Although it hurt to be done for the season, the Struthers Wildcats are ready to come back next season better than ever. And for Holy Name, they will continue to play their best in their next match against West Branch.
Martin, the front middle, feels as if the team needs to keep their head up and get out of their heads to play better next season.
“Next season we need to not show our emotions because when we show our emotions it brings the whole team’s mood down, and we end up not having fun,” said Martin.
With the final match being 3 for Holy Name and zero for Struthers with sets, both teams had some good plays. Martin and Chloe Curd both got 2 kills for Struthers and Afrates from Holy Name got 16 kills. Hayden Wells from Green Wave got 16 digs, and Maddie Marshall got 6 digs from Struthers.
