Garrettsville OH- Tuesday evening saw the (3-1) Garfield Lady G-Men face off with the (2-2) Champion Lady Flashes in an early season MVA Conference matchup.
Despite Gabe Groves giving Garfield an early lead, Champion continued to go back and forth with the G-Men. With the score tied at 6, Garfield claimed the lead when Kennedy Caldwell's spike was sent out of play. From then on, it was all Lady G-Men. A 9-7 Garfield lead quickly burst into an 18-10 lead, with the run capped off by a Mandy Cardinal block.
Before Champion could blink, their fate was sealed. Mandy gave Garfield the set 1 victory with a two-hand tip over the blockers, the final being 25-12. Falling behind one-nothing, Champion was aided by a number of Garfield miscues. A number of hits falling short of the net and sailing out of play gave the Flashes loads of momentum. Champion would go on to win set 2 by a final of 25-16, Hannah Kernig's hit traveled out of play, closing the door on set 2. A dynamite start for Garfield, Mandy Cardinals two-handed rejection set up Gabe Groves for a kill that started a dominating set for the G-Men. A 7-1 start forced a Champion timeout.
Hannah Kernig would join the block party, and following her denial, Kyla Grace would shine with three consecutive aces as Garfield all of a sudden was in control of set 3 leading 17-3. Kernig continued to play a huge role in set 3, with another emphatic kill that gave the G-Men a 13 point lead.
Garfield finished the set the way they played throughout its entirety. Montana McGranahan and Hannah Kernig both had big-time kills and Lily Grace capped off a blowout with Garfield's 4th ace of the set.
Coming off a dominating 25-6 set 3 victory, Garfield was aiming to slam the door on Champion. Both teams traded momentum, with nobody able to gain a real edge. Champion found some breathing room after Kyla Grace shanked a hit into the stands, and the refs came into play, much to the chagrin of the Garfield fans. The Flashes found themselves on the doorstep of a potential 5th set, leading 22-16 as Garfield called a timeout.
The G-Men crawled back into it, now only down 23-19. Groves cut the Flashes lead down to 2 with a kill, before McGranahan took over. Montana came up with back-to-back aces to tie it at 23, eventually taking a 24-23 lead. Reese Shirkey sealed the deal with a hit to the far left corner of play, despite the all out effort from Avery Boggs to save it, Garfield came away with a miraculous come from behind victory. Winning set four 25-23, and coming away with a 3-1 match victory. Garfield improved to 4-1 on the season, as Champion falls to 2-3.
Garfield STATS-
Mandy Cardinal: 12 Kills 4 Blocks
Montana McGranahan: 12 Kills 4 Aces 12 Digs
Reese Shirkey: 27 Assists 1 Kill 12 Digs
Kyla Grace: 11 Digs 3 Aces
Hannah Kernig: 6 Kills 1 Block
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