Mount Vernon News

Mount Vernon — It took effort and solid play, but the Mount Vernon High School girls volleyball team pulled off a 3-2 victory (25-17, 26-28, 21-25, 25-23, 15-9) over the River View Bears on Saturday afternoon. The match was a battle from the beginning, and the Yellow Jackets showed a lot of spirit and confidence that head coach Shae Baxter said will carry through the rest of the season.

“The way that they were able to play and the feeling they had when they were done is want I want them to have every time we step on the court,” said Baxter. “They had a good time playing, and that’s exactly how it should be.”

Mount Vernon took control early in the first game, taking a lead of 14-7. The Jackets managed to maintain a sizable lead throughout, and took the first game 25-17.

That momentum carried over to the second game, as they broke out to a 4-0 lead, and eventually took a 13-7 lead. This time, though, the Bears battled back, and eventually tied the game at 16. The teams went back and forth, and River View was left with game point, up 24-23. The Yellow Jackets fought back, but eventually dropped the game, 28-26.

The third game was a back-and-forth battle throughout, with the largest lead being four for either team. There were nine ties and multiple lead changes, but eventually the Bears took a lead of 16-15 in the game and a match lead with a 25-21 win.

With a must-win game on the line, the Yellow Jackets responded. The fourth game was also close, with neither team able to take complete control. When the Bears appeared to be pulling away, taking an 18-14 lead and control of the match, Mount Vernon fired back and tied the game at 19. The teams traded points until the game was tied at 23, when Mount Vernon finally put a pair of points together to take the game, 25-23, and force an extra game.

In the fifth game, it was back and forth, until the game was tied at 7. Then Mount Vernon made a run, taking an 11-7 lead. The Jackets maintained control from then on, and took the game, 15-9, and the match, 3-2.

“I thought our defense played fantastic today. Our passers stepped up as well, and that allowed us to play a more complete game,” said Baxter. “We started to eliminate some of the mistakes that we had been making. If we can continue to do that, we’ll be a much better team. We just need to keep this attitude. We know what we need to do and how to play, we just need to be confident.”

Jessie Gall had 21 digs for the Yellow Jackets, Caroline Denzer had 25 digs on the day and Ashley Carhart added seven kills in the win.

The Yellow Jackets will return on action Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. as they head to Worthington Kilbourne for an Ohio Capital Conference showdown.