HENRIETTA — East Rutherford continued its strong start in Western Piedmont 3A/4A play Thursday, sweeping Chase in straight sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-19). Behind more than 20 kills from its front line, the Cavaliers (4-5 overall, 3-1 conference) won their second straight match.
Coach Bobbi Hodge thought her team did an excellent job of handling the road environment.
“I think they handled it amazingly,” she said. “We expected a big crowd, and they didn’t let it get to them.”
Chloe Adair began the scoring with a perfectly placed serve, beginning a 5-0 run for the Cavs. Adair added an ace along with a Carson Bailey kill, but Chase (0-7, 0-4) reeled off four straight points as Marilla Okpych collected both a kill and a block, cutting the deficit to 5-4. After trading points, East Rutherford reclaimed momentum, utilizing a 9-2 run behind kills by Adair and Casse McFarland. Kate Swain added an ace, giving the Cavs a 14-7 lead. Wesley Mayse delivered a kill for the Trojans, but Cragan Outling responded with one of her own. Chase would cut it to 21-18 behind multiple kills from Okpych and strong play from MyleeKaye Fincher, but Outling and McFarland would provide too much firepower at the net as the Cavs pulled out the opening set.
The pendulum of momentum swung between both teams as East Rutherford opened the set with a 3-0 run, but Chase responded with a 4-0 run of its own, taking its first lead of the match. The lead would be short-lived as errors began piling up for the Trojans, allowing the Cavs to race ahead, 14-6. A timeout slowed down the East Rutherford momentum, but only briefly, as Chase could only close the deficit to six. A trio of kills by Outling, McFarland, and Aaliyah Fowler maintained the Cavs’ advantage, as the visitors clinched the second set.
The Trojans refused to go down without a fight. Fincher delivered four consecutive high-quality serves, allowing her team to jump out to a 4-0 lead. McFarland would end the run on a kill, as part of a 7-0 response by the Cavs. Kassidy Bailey ended the spurt with a kill of her own, putting Chase down just two. Swain and Outling delivered kills to extend the East Rutherford lead to 13-7. As they did all night, the Trojans battled back, as Mayse and Bailey combined for four kills down the stretch, but a blocking error would seal the victory as the Cavs claimed the three-set win.
Chase coach Hilarie Beam was proud of the fight in her team.
“They have a lot of grit,” she said. “We work on not giving up and being behind in practice, and what that is going to look like in a game with the added stress and just coming together. We’ve talked a lot about intensity lately and coming out with intentionality. We definitely started with that tonight, but we have to finish it all the way through.”
Both teams return to action on Tuesday with East Rutherford hosting Patton and Chase traveling to East Burke.