ASHTABULA — Throughout the season, Geneva volleyball coach Annah Haeseler and Conneaut coach Paula Ghiz could always count on the spiking and blocking powers of girls like Taylor Webb for the Eagles and Nichele Johnson for the Spartans.

They found out what it was like to be on the receiving end of the blasts of that pair in Tuesday’s Ashtabula County Women’s Scholar-Athlete Association Senior All-Star Match at SS. John and Paul High School’s Mahoney Gymnasium. It was a good thing this match was for fun, because they felt the sting of the lash of such power as the Mariners squad, of which Johnson and Webb were a part, administered a convincing 25-16, 25-21, 25-19, 25-14 whipping on the Panthers squad, coached by Haeseler and Ghiz.

Webb, who earned Player of the Match honors for the Mariners, scored eight points, but was really a factor at the net with 11 aces on a 15-of-15 spiking night, added six ace blocks and had an ace dink.

Johnson scored six points, mixed in eight aces on 9-of-11 spiking and had an ace block and ace dink.

It wasn’t just that twosome that put on the powerful display for the Mariners, though. They got big assists from another pair of Conneaut seniors — Justine VanCise, who led the Mariners with 10 points, including three ace serves, and also pitched in with five aces on a 10-for-10 spiking night and two ace blocks, and Tanisha Ford, who scored five points and cracked four aces on 5-of-5 spiking.

They took it all with a smile, but Ghiz and Haeseler did take the opportunity to get in some gentle ribbing at the expense of ACWSAA president Frank Roskovics, the former Harbor Mariner coach who set up the lineups.

“I think Rosko kind of stacked the Mariners because he wanted them to win,” Ghiz said with a laugh.

“It did look like their team was a little stacked, didn’t it?” Haeseler said with a chuckle.

The configuration of the Mariner squad certainly met with the approval of coaches Lisa Newsome of Lakeside, herself a former Harbor coach, and Brandi Orlando of SS. John and Paul.

“I liked the way our team was built,” Newsome said with a big smile. “I thought all the girls worked together really well.”

“I thought our setters worked together really well tonight,” Orlando said. “I thought all the girls were really excited and played well.”

It wasn’t just a big night for the Conneaut seniors on the Mariners’ side of the net. Conneaut’s Kelsey Prevot was the Player of the Match for the Panthers with a team-high eight points, two ace dinks and a 35-of-38 setting night with 20 aces.

Although the Mariners dominated the action, the Panthers had their moments, particularly in the second and third games. The second game was tied as late as 19-all before Ford provided three of her ace spikes, VanCise supplied two of her ace blocks and Hailey Burns of Jefferson contributed a key ace block.

The second game was a battle through 11-all. Then Johnson unleashed five of her ace spikes, Webb contributed four ace spikes and three ace blocks and Jefferson’s Sarah Focht and Lakeside’s Taylor Atzemis hit for four points each to allow the Mariners to pull away.

Geneva’s Hillary Hambleton had six points, two ace spikes and an ace dink for the Panthers. Jefferson’s Lizzy Ziemski also had six points with two ace spikes, two ace dinks and an ace block. Conneaut’s Sarah Campbell had three ace spikes, as did Geneva’s Rachel Murray.

For the Mariners, SJP’s Kristina Krumins finished with nine points, including two ace serves. Geneva’s Kristyn Pristov had eight points, including four ace serves. Focht also finished with eight points.

Through it all, both sides found plenty of time to laugh and even salute each other’s efforts, even if they were on opposite sides of the net.

“I thought all the girls had a lot of fun,” Orlando said. “It was nice to have no pressure and just go out and play.”

“I was really pleased with how all the girls worked together,” Newsome said. “I think everybody had a good time.”

“The girls seemed like they were best friends out there, like they had been friends all their lives,” Haeseler said. “Paula and I found ourselves cheering for kids from both sides. You could see the girls slapping hands under the net.”

“There were a lot of times when we found ourselves cheering for the other girls,” Ghiz said. “It was a lot of fun.”