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Flivvers fight off Forest Park

CRYSTAL FALLS — The Kingsford Flivvers raced out to a two-set lead against Forest Park on Tuesday night at Eddie Chambers Gymnasium.

But the Lady Trojans have been a tough team to knock out. Twice this season, they have roared back from two sets to win five-setters.

So when the Lady Trojans took the third set, it was natural to wonder — could they possibly do that again against a talented Kingsford team?

Turns out, they could not as the Flivvers took control of the fourth set, faded a bit near the end, but clinched the win on a kill by middle hitter Abby Terrian to fight off Forest Park, 3-1 25-18, 25-15, 18-25, 25-23 in non-conference action.

Kingsford coach Jaclynn Kreider felt somewhat lukewarm about the match.

“Tonight, for us, to be honest, was a little disappointing. I think we’re struggling right now, our serve receive in particular. Besides our middles, our hitting efficiency isn’t good. So we’ve got things to work on.

“And I give credit to Crystal Falls, they served extremely hard, which made our serve receive look the way that it did.”

Ironically, it was Kingsford’s serving that jumpstarted the Flivvers in the first set. Grace Roberts fired four consecutive aces to help lift her team to a quick 7-1 lead. The Lady Trojans did recover somewhat, closing the gap to 13-10 on a kill by middle hitter Gracie Peterson, but two aces from Madelynn Kreider and one kill each from Roberts and Terrian steadied things for the Flivvers.

A Forest Park line violation ended the opening set.

“We started off slow tonight which isn’t uncommon for us,” FP coach Bobbie Anderson said. “The girls seemed intimidated and played very hesitant the first two sets.”

The second set was much like the first. Roberts belted two aces and Kreider had one to go with a kill from Elaina Bortolini and a tip from Terrian as Kingsford grabbed a 7-1 lead.

The Flivver middles also began to dominate the match even more. Terrian and Laura Bracket recorded four kills each as Kingsford began to run a quicker-paced offense in the second set.

Forest Park, which hadn’t lost a dual match since Sept. 27, showed its grit, taking a 10-1 lead to begin the third. Two kills from Peterson and one from freshman outside hitter Audrey Franz helped spark the surge.

Kingsford made a run to cut the gap to 12-10 on a tip from Kreider, but the Lady Trojans kept their lead and finished off the third set win on a tip and a kill from Jacobson.

“We gained some momentum and maybe caught Kingsford off guard in the third set,” Anderson said.

Given its penchant for remarkable comebacks, Forest Park came out with renewed energy in the fourth set, but Kingsford grabbed a 6-3 lead. The Flivvers built that edge to 18-12 on a kill by Bortolini, but the Trojans ran off five straight points late in the set to creep within 24-23, prompting Kreider to use a timeout.

On the first point after the break, Terrian smashed a spike through the Forest Park block and the Flivvers clinched the win.

Both teams received excellent play from their liberos — Emma Andrews for Kingsford and Ashlynn Kannich for Forest Park.

“Ashlynn did a great job tonight picking a lot of balls against our attack,” Kreider said. “And we’ve got probably the best defender in our conference. She’s just a fantastic volleyball player.”

Anderson said her team has grown since seeing Kingsford early in the year.

“I’m proud of our girls, they definitely improved since the last time we met Kingsford.”

Kingsford won the jayvee match, 2-1(22-25, 25-22, 15-11).

FP Stats

Rayven Jacobson 8 kills, 7 digs, 12 assists, 1 block

Charlie Larson 5 digs, 7 assists, 3 aces

Gracie Peterson 9 kills, 7 digs, 1 block, 4 aces

Ashlynn Kannich 21 digs, 1 ace

Leah Feldhausen 2 kills, 1 block

Ema Stepien 3 kills, 1 dig

Audrey Franz 5 kills, 3 digs, 1 assist, 1 block

Maddie Divine 11 digs

Lauren Kudwa 1 dig

Kingsford Stats

Assists:

Madelynn Kreider 17, Allie LaVarnway 4,

Kills:

Abby Terrian 12, Grace Roberts 2, Kreider 2, Zoie Geronomi 1, Talia Wallis 1, Elaina Bortolini 4, Laura Bracket 4

Digs:

Andrews 6, Wallis 4, Bortolini 1, Roberts 1, Kreider 5, Danika Varda 2

Aces:

Roberts 5, Wallis 1, Terrian 2, Kreider 1

Blocks:

Terrian 2, Bracket 1

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