by Emily Scott
Reporting in Sullivan

In a conference volleyball game last Thursday, the Maroa-Forsyth Trojans had the power and skills to put away the Sullivan Redskins in a 25-13, 25-15 match.

The Redskins came out the first game ready to compete and despite a few communication errors, were able, at first, to keep up with the Trojans’  strong offense. 

But Maroa-Forsyth began to extend their lead with the help of offensive power plays, while Sullivan’s defense soon fell apart, unable to recover, allowing Maroa-Forsyth to win 25-13.

Photo by RR Best
Maggie Plank provides a dig during the Lady Red's game against Maroa-Forsyth.

“The passing was really weak,” said Sullivan’s head coach Heather Lindenmeyer. “We were sending a lot of free balls over the net, and that’s not going to work against Maroa-Forsyth.”

Sullivan came out the next game discouraged, which showed in their gameplay. Maroa-Forsyth quickly tacked on 14 points to start the game while Sullivan’s scoring went unanswered. With the Redskins scoring the majority of their points later in the game, they were unable to catch up to the Trojans’ sizeable lead, which led to the 25-15 loss.

“I think our aggressive serving really helped us,” said Maroa-Forsyth’s head coach Jamie McCool. “That really put them out of their offense. We hit really well.”

McCool said she was also impressed with libero Bailey Martin and outside hitter Bailey Mason’s defensive performance in the match.

“I’m happy to get this conference win,” said McCool. “Every win makes us better.”

The Trojans are now 16-4 and 7-0 in the conference.

Tori Floyd connects with the volley last Thursday.

Lindenmeyer said she was overall disappointed in her team’s playing and said that a main contributing factor to the loss was their serve receiving abilities.

Despite the loss, she said that senior Maggie Plank and junior Emily Neuhauser brought their best games.

“Our passing wasn’t good, so we were unable to feed them the ball as much as I’d like to see,” she said. “But they took some good swings.” Plank had four kills and five digs and Neuhauser had 10 kills and two digs.

The team still feels off-kilter without junior hitter Brittin Boyer, who was out with a sprained ankle.

“It’s obvious that our team is stronger with her,” Lindenmeyer said. “She offers a lot of skill and leadership.” Lindenmeyer said she hopes Boyer will be back this week.

“We need a front line and we need our blocking to be stronger,” she added.

After Tuesday’s 25-17, 25-15 win over Monticello, Sullivan sits at 7-17 on the season.