Ashby volleyball: Arrows down CGB to start season strong

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The Ashby volleyball team used its serving to put the pressure on Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley and come away with a 3-1 win in the season opener on Tuesday night.

The Arrows were successful on 84 of their 89 serves during the four-set match.

“[We] haven’t had a match in a long time where we served 89 times in a four-set match,” head coach Brenda Johnson said. “We emphasized the importance of putting the ball in their court and let them make the mistakes. We had four players serve 100 percent tonight. That is so important to the team. It creates a sense of confidence that just carries over to all aspects of the match.”

The Arrows used that to jump out to an early lead with a 25-20 win in game one. The Wolverines followed with a 25-18 win in the second before Ashby won the final two by the same 25-20 score.

“The Arrows were caught on their heels during some long volleys and CGB was able to physically direct their tips to our holes,” Johnson said. “But our back row play of Amber Sundal, Cassandra Jordan and Madison VanSanten proved to be stronger in the later part of the match.”

Senior captain Meg Roley led Ashby’s charge with an all-around strong match. She was a perfect 20-for-20 serving with 13 points and three aces. She also finished with seven kills, while Bailey Funkhouser added seven kills as well.

ASHBY 3, CGB 1

(25-20, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20)

ASHBY LEADERS – Roley – 20-20 serving, 13 points, 3 aces, 7 kills; Funkhouser – 7 kills; Sundal – 11 digs; Sami Johansen – 4 digs; Alexis Ness, Madison VanSanten, Paige Nelson – 11 combined kills

Tags: ashby sports, sports, arrows, volleyball