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[ PREVIOUS STORIES ]

10-06-03: Celina registers easy victory

By LYLE KITTLE
Standard Correspondent

With two big matches earlier in the week with Ottawa-Glandorf and Defiance, and homecoming that evening, Celina volleyball coach Nikki Taylor-Etzler wasn’t shocked that her team didn’t put everything together in a morning match with Bellefontaine on Saturday.
The Bulldogs got a quick win anyway, hammering the Chieftains 15-4, 15-8 in the varsity match, after watching the junior varsity roll 15-6, 15-8.
While the Bulldogs had a number of serving errors, the Chieftains struggled with serve reception throughout the match, giving Celina the opportunities to overcome any breakdown.
“We were trying to serve aggressively,” Taylor-Etzler said. “That’s been our goal since the start of the year. Some of the errors came from that. This wasn’t a good day to play because of everything else that’s been going on this week, but a win is a win. We may not have been very consistent, but we made the plays when we needed to make them.”
Traci Stoner kept bringing things back on track during the match, registering 24 assists and teaming with Lydia Fleck to pace the backcourt defense.
Celina was never able to sustain momentum in the opening game, scoring more than twice on just one possession behind Stoner’s serves and the net play of Sarah Lange and Tricia VanderHorst. The play at the net of VanderHorst, Lange and Betsy Hone - who paced the Bulldogs with nine kills - held the Chieftains to just four points, with three of those coming as the result of Celina hitting errors.
“Bellefontaine’s a pretty big team,” said Taylor-Etzler. “Our blocking at the net was one of the things we did really well today.”
The Bulldogs were able to pull things together better in the second game, with things working best when senior Megan Harner was serving. That particular rotation accounted for seven of Celina’s second game points, including the final four tallies that sealed the win.
“The girls have been very comfortable with where each other is on the court,” Taylor-Etzler said. ‘It’s been a matter of knowing someone else was going to be there to get a particular ball, and that wasn’t always there today. We were a little inconsistent because of that. Because of a busy week like this, I guess you have to allow for some errors. We’ve got some big matches coming up (two WBL tilts against Wapakoneta and St. Marys on Tuesday and Thursday), so we need to get our concentration back.”
The Bulldogs, 15-3 on the year and 7-0 in the Western Buckeye League, continue their quest for another WBL title on Tuesday, hosting Wapakoneta.

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