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Celina's Haley Kizer (4) sets the ball to a teammate during Tuesday's WBL match with Bath at the Intermediate School. The Bulldogs swept the Wildcats to move to 5-2 in the league.
CELINA - After a tough weekend in falling in all three matches at Crestview's invitational, Celina looked to end the home portion of the 2025 volleyball schedule on a positive note against Bath.
The Bulldogs celebrated Senior Night for the five seniors with a 25-13, 25-14, 25-12 win to move into a tie for third in the Western Buckeye League with St. Marys at 5-2 and go to 7-13 overall.
"We handled our business really well," said Celina coach Amy Sutter. "We passed well and Sid (Sidney Jenkins, who joined Avery Niekamp, Haley Kizer, Olivia Uhlenhake and Braelyn Ashmore, as seniors being honored before the match) had an exceptional night hitting. She really set the tone early and I think everybody followed suit."
Celina's Sidney Jenkins (7) spikes the ball past Bath's Taylor Conrad during Tuesday's WBL match.
Bath (7-11, 2-5 WBL) came ready to play, taking a 3-1 lead early in the first set. The teams tied three times up to 5-all before Lilly Shreffler's kill put Celina in the lead for good as Natalie Carlin served up four straight points to make it 9-5. The Bulldogs pushed the margin with several solid service runs. Kizer added a pair of aces to help push the margin to 17-9, then Breanna Kinnicut added two points to get Celina up to 20 points. Jenkins got the final kill to close out the set.
"Bath has come a long way," said Sutter. "I think they are a better team than their record shows. They're well-organized and defended us really well."
After getting the sideout, Niekamp served up seven straight points to give Celina an 8-0 lead out of the gate. The Wildcats were unable to battle back, getting as close as three points at one point before Kizer rattled off three points, then Trisha Stein added two points en route to a 2-0 lead.
Bath scored the first point of the third set, but Celina scored the next four points during a Niekamp service run. The Wildcats tried to stay close, getting as close as two points on several occasions before Niekamp served up three more points later and then Ashmore closed out the match in style with seven straight to reach 25 and end the match.
Celina's Olivia Uhlenhake tips the ball over the net during Tuesday's WBL match with Bath.
"The seniors stepped up and wanted to win, being their last night on their home court," said Sutter. "Everybody did their jobs. They passed and finished at the net."
Jenkins had 14 kills to lead the Bulldogs. Shreffler had 10 kills. Niekamp had 12 digs with Kizer finishing 31 assists.
Celina returns to WBL play on Thursday with a road trip to Hermiller Gymnasium to take on WBL co-leader Ottawa-Glandorf.
