Iroquois spikers upset No. 2 seed Albion

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Chanyce Powell blocks a spike attempt by Courtney Kling of Iroquois during the host Purple Eagles sectional loss to the Lady Chiefs this evening.

Avenging a late season non league four set loss, No. 10 seed Iroquois upset No. 2 Albion 25-22, 12-25, 26-24, 25-22 this evening in a Section VI Class B quarterfinal match at Albion.

Setting an ominous tone for the evening, Albion built up a 22-19 lead late in the opening set after a burst of five straight points polished off by Chanyce Powell on three kills and two blocks only to see Iroquois rally to take the next five points in a row and the set 25-22.

Rebounding, Albion jumped out to a commanding 14-3 lead in the second set, ignited by two spiking kills by Aleah Foos and one by Powell and highlighted by a seven point run of service points (8-14) by Kaitlyn VanSkiver, a run which included two aces.

Two more kills by Powell, along with one each by Kelsee Soule and Meghan Hurley, helped Albion close out the 25-12 win to even the match as VanSkiver registered an ace for the final point.

Keeping the momentum, Albion then jumped out to a 6-1 lead at the outset of the third set on two kills and an ace by Hurley along with two aces by Soule and one by Powell.

The Purple Eagles went on to hold narrow leads late in the set of 20-17, after a pair of service points by VanSkiver, and at 21-19, after a kill by Soule, but just as was the case with the first set could not hold the advantage.

In an near instant replay of the opening set, Iroquois, which kept virtually everything in play throughout the match, rallied to take six of the next eight points to claim a 26-24 overtime win and regain a 2-1 lead in the match.

Albion’s Aleah Foos spikes over Elena Grossman of Iroquois.

Despite being able to only score more than one point in a row just once, Albion did manage to hold a slender 19-18 lead late in the fourth set. Powell had three kills and a block, Soule two kills and Foos a kill and a block for points to keep the Purple Eagles in the set.

However for the third time in four sets the Purple Eagles were unable to hold the late lead as the Lady Chiefs claimed 7 of the next 10 points to win the set and the match.

The closest Albion could get down the stretch was within one at 22-23 after back-to-back blocks for points by Powell and Foos followed by an ace by Powell. The next two points and the match though belonged to the Lady Chiefs which registered an ace for the clinching point.

Powell had a total of 12 kills and 6 blocks on the evening, Soule 8 kills and 2 aces, Foos 3 kills and 5 blocks, Hurley 4 kills and 2 aces and VanSkiver 4 aces.

The loss was the first of the season after 18 straight wins for the Purple Eagles.

Akron 25-25-29-25
Medina 13-14-31-8
No. 3 Akron ousted visiting No. 6 Medina in four sets in a Class C1 quarterfinal.

Megan O’Keefe had 16 digs, Emily Kams 10 assists and Molley Gross 7 digs for Medina. Kams and Gross also both had 2 kills and Je’ne Brown 3 and Carley Schultz 3 aces.

Schultz served up potns 3-11 for the Mustangs in the overtime third set win as Gross polished off the set winning point with a kill off a serve by Abby Maines.

Roy-Hart 23-25-25-25
da’Vinci 25-10-18-20
No. 6 Roy-Hart bested No. 3 da’Vinci in four sets in a Class C2 quarterfinal.

Becca Albrecht had 10 kills and 4 aces, Olivia Vorholzer 8 kills, Bea Bacon 7 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces, Skyler Christopher 6 kills and 5 service points and Savoy Laubacker 6 kills and 14 points to lead the way for Roy-Hart.