Lady Vandals best St. Elmo/Brownstown in opener

VANDALIA – Both teams played with some inconsistency in last Thursday’s season-opener, but it was Vandalia which came up with big kills and serves when it mattered to knock off St. Elmo/Brownstown in a tight 25-17, 23-25, 25-23 win.

Senior Megan Godoyo and junior Johanna Walton each had a game-high 11 kills for the Lady Vandals (1-0), who served 11 aces as a team to pick up a win against their county rival by holding off a late comeback attempt in the final set.

“For the first game, I thought our kids came out and played really well,” said Vandalia coach Allison Hall. “We came out in the first set and did everything right, the second set we had more errors, and in the third set, it went back and forth.

“There at the end, it showed that this group has the desire to win and not quit at the end.”

The Lady Vandals looked as if they were going to cruise to victory against the Lady Eagles (0-1), serving five aces in the first 10 points of the game to take an early lead and getting 12 kills throughout the set.

“Where we struggled was our serve-receive,” Asher said. “They served well. They weren’t necessarily hard, but they had good servers who picked at us a little bit.”

Asher said she would make a lineup adjustment based on the type of serve-receive her team showed her.

In the second set, 11 of St. Elmo/Brownstown’s points came directly because of a Vandalia serving or attack error, as the team of mostly juniors showed its inexperience.

To get wins, Hall said, the Lady Vandals must play with fluidity at all positions throughout the entire match.

“We won’t be successful with just one or two people (playing well),” Hall said. “We have to have everybody doing their job and playing their role.”

St. Elmo took a 22-16 lead in that set, but Vandalia junior Jessica Sullens served the Lady Vandals back into the it, getting seven straight points, including a pair of kills by sophomore Makayla Tinker – who was making her varsity debut.

The score would be tied at 22 and 23, but a kill by St. Elmo’s Gabi Moore – her fifth of the set – and an ace by Elizabeth Guerrero would force a third set in the sweltering heat of Vandalia’s gym.

“I had no idea how we would respond in competition, after such a long time in practices,” Asher said. “I am always nervous, but I was especially nervous for this game with the Fayette County spotlight.”

Vandalia would secure the early lead in the third set, but St. Elmo/Brownstown rallied back, and neither team would lead by more than six points.

The Lady Vandals had several chances to earn the match point, but the Lady Eagles would claw back from a 24-20 deficit to make it a one-point game on an ace by Moore in the final set.

Sullens – who had a game-high 25 assists to more than double her career-high in her first game as Vandalia’s primary setter – would earn her only kill of the match, knocking a free ball to the floor for the final point.

“It was a good thing to be able to win it, and it was good for the ones without much varsity experience to have that competition where they have to do the little things,” Hall said. “They know how to win, but it’s stepping up to the level of play in varsity.”

Vandalia 25, St. Elmo 17
St. Elmo 25, Vandalia 23
Vandalia 25, St. Elmo 23
Lady Vandals
Kills: Godoyo, 11; Walton, 11; Ally Sasse, 8; Kadi Metzger, 4; Tinker, 4; Jessica Booker, 1; Sullens, 1.
Aces: Metzger, 5; Booker, 4; Sullens, 2.
Assists: Sullens, 25; Metzger, 4; Booker, 2; Godoyo, 1.
Blocks: Metzger, ½; Reynolds, ½; Tinker, ½; Walton, ½.
Record: 1-0
Lady Eagles
Kills: Moore, 7; Courtney Howard, 5; Jenna Miller, 5; Erica Behl, 3; Bethany Oberlink, 3; Emily Bone, 1.
Aces: Moore, 2; Michaela Walk, 2; Guerrero, 1; Miller, 1.
Assists: Walk, 20; Katie Kroll, 1; Sarah Maxey, 1.
Blocks: Howard, 1½; Behl, ½; Miller, ½; Moore, ½; Oberlink, ½; Walk, ½.
Record: 0-1

***

Junior Walton shines in first varsity start for Vandalia

VANDALIA – Only one player for the Lady Vandals had any significant varsity playing time before last Thursday’s season-opener.

But for the most part, spectators wouldn’t have been able to tell.

Senior returner Megan Godoyo did as expected in killing off 11 attacks in last Thursday’s season-opening 25-17, 23-25, 25-23 win against St. Elmo/Brownstown, but it was a junior who is playing her first major role with the varsity squad who made the biggest impact.

Johanna Walton – a strong left-hander – stepped into a varsity starting spot after filling a very limited role on the varsity bench last season, but looked as if she had been playing at the highest level for several seasons.

“She has been playing JV for the past two years, and we have been working with her a lot in practice,” said coach Allison Hall. “She’s always ready to go.”

The lanky junior played a balanced game, securing 11 kills, with four in set one, three in set two and four in set three.

She also added a block assist, and deflected several other attacks, displaying strong leaping ability throughout the game to disrupt St. Elmo/Brownstown’s offensive and defensive rhythms.

“You don’t see many left-handed middle hitters,” said Lady Eagles coach Elise Asher. “We were a little bit slow getting to our blocking assignments, and when you put a kid her size one-on-one, she will be effective, because she is a good hitter who got where she needed to be to make her attacks.”

Teaming with Godoyo on the front row will make a formidable tandem for the Lady Vandals, and juniors Ally Sasse and Kadi Metzger, along with sophomore Makayla Tinker, have the ability to earn Vandalia lot of kills throughout the season.