To start the season, the volleyball race in the TRC was up for grabs. No team brought back a definitive favorite. Midway through the year, things are shaping up. The top five teams are W-K, FC, Caledonia, SC, and L-A. Travis Malley’s Falcons stayed TRC perfect with two more wins. The Falcons knocked off PEM easily, 25-18, 25-6, 25-13. Madison Scheevel (21 assists, 10 digs), Paige Donlinger (10 kills), Stella Schrüfer (8 kills), and K.J. Corson (7 digs, 23-24 serving, 3 aces) led the way. FC then faced its second top-tier team this year, at Lewiston-Altura. The Cardinals returned a majority of last year’s 18-11 squad. The teams battled to a five-set finish. FC started game one 5-1, but L-A had a mid-set 5-0 run for an 18-13 lead. The Cards got to set-point (24-18), only for FC’s Donlinger to score five straight points (four kills, block), making it 24-23. L-A sophomore Ella Miller ended the run with a block, giving L-A game one 25-23. In game two, Falcon foreign exchange student Stella Schrüfer’s six-point, four-ace serving session was critical (FC up 12-7). It keyed a 25-21 win. Game three was tied early (1, 6, 8) and late (18, 19, 23). Back-to-back points by the Card’s including a second Miller block game-winner gave the home team another 25-23 win, a 2-1 lead. In game four, FC’s serving, or L-A’s suspect serve receive, was again critical. Corson had a four-point serving run mid-set (15-10 FC). Scheevel followed with a two ace serving session (19-12). FC prevailed 25-18, sending the match to five. There, the Card’s held an 8-5 lead. A critical juncture came with it 8-7. Miller again had a big ace block, but it was annulled by her net violation. FC tied the game 8-8. With it 10-10, Donlinger scored a kill, then a three-point serving session, a 4-0 Falcon run. L-A got to down 14-12, but a Schrüfer block capped the comeback win. FC prevailed 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12). The Falcons won 3-2 last year too after trailing 2-1. Donlinger, just 5’3”, was FC’s best (match-high 18 kills, 18 digs). Scheevel (31 assists, 21-22 serving, 4 aces, 11 digs), Schrüfer (8 kills, 18-20 serving, 6 aces), and Corson (match-high 29 digs, 18-20 serving, 3 aces) did big work for FC. Hadley Yoder added 6 kills. Ciarra McNally (16 kills), Myia Ruzek (11 kills, 3 ½ blocks), Miller (5 kills, 5 blocks), and Gabby Speltz (14 assists, 18 digs) paced L-A. The Cardinals had 14 blocks to FC’s 6. The Falcons had 14 aces to L-A’s one. McNally scored 14 of her kills in the first three sets. The TRC league race (9/25) is W-K (5-0, 11-4), FC (5-0, 10-6), Caledonia (4-1, 9-6), St. Charles (4-1, 6-5), and L-A (4-2, 10-6).
FC VB Stays TRC Perfect
