JEFFERSON —
Perry volleyball coach Katie White knew exactly what the Pirates had to do to beat Conneaut in a Division II sectional semifinal Monday at Falcon Gymnasium.
The eighth-seeded Pirates executed their coach’s gameplan well enough to drop Conneaut, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24.
“We needed to pass better and from the passes we needed to set better,” White said. “Our goal was to throw off their hitting. A couple of times, we just couldn’t battle back. We have to stop them from putting pressure on us when our goal is to put pressure on them.”
Perry (9-14) will play second-seeded Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin on Wednesday in a sectional championship match. The seventh-seeded Spartans (8-8) have finished their season.
Down a game and trailing, 23-19, Conneaut was dealt a blow, losing sophomore hitter Lexi Zappitelli to a knee injury.
“I hope it’s not anything too bad,” Conneaut coach Paul Stofan said. “It was a huge loss not to have her for (the third game).
“I’m proud of the way the girls pulled together without her. We could have won (the third game) as well as we lost it. I’m proud of the way they pulled together with her not in there. She’s our go-to player. When teams lose players like that, they usually fold.”
The Spartans kept fighting and opened that third game with a 4-1 lead and held it until consecutive kills by the Pirates’ Bethany Mako and Gabby Sutyak, an ace serve from Karley Brewster and another kill from Mako gave Perry a 17-15 advantage.
“(Mako) stepped in at the perfect moment with exactly what we needed,” White said. “She knew where the open spots were and nailed them.”
Two kills from Megan Tessmer and a pair of Perry hitting errors knotted the game at 23-23. The Pirates closed out the match behind two kills from Sandy Elly and a Conneaut passing error.
“They serve really well,” Stofan said. “They play great defense. They have an average offense, but they’re very good on defense and are great at serving.
“They’re pretty athletic. They played well. They’re a real solid team. Once in a while, they make some errors, but most of the time, you’ve got to earn your points against them.”
Mako finished with 13 kills and four blocks, Brittany Levkulich 12 kills, Brewster had 30 ace sets and Megan Reid had 24 digs to lead the Pirates.
Perry started the match on a roll, taking a 12-2 advantage in the first game.
“It was a good feeling to start off that way,” White said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t carry over. We can’t afford to get down on ourselves in the tournament. It’s going to affect us. We have to be consistent in everything we do.”
Mako had three kills, Levkulich had one and Brewster and Reid each had ace serves to get Perry going.
A kill from Zappitelli and an ace serve from Emilee Bucci and three Perry spiking errors gave the Spartans a 5-0 lead to open the second game. Four Conneaut miscues, a kill from Levkulich, a block from Mako and a kill from Elly and an ace serve from Brewster gave the Pirates a 19-15 lead.
Levkulich had eight ace spikes in the game.
“It’s nice to know we can turn to her when we need to,” White said. “She’s a very consistent player. She’s knowledgeable about the game. She can step in when it comes to motivation. She’s a coach on the floor for me.”
Angie Zappitelli had 8 kills and a block and Lexi Zappitelli had five kills and a block to pace the Spartans. Tessmer added four kills.
Ettinger is a freelance writer from Ashtabula.
Click here to subscribe to The Star Beacon print edition.
Click here to subscribe to The Star Beacon replica edition.
