The Marietta Tigers had absolutely no trouble at all disposing of the Zanesville Rosecran Bishops in East Cenrtral Ohio Athletic League play Tuesday night at Sutton Gymnasium.
The Tigers claimed the first game by a 25-3 margin to set the early tone and then cruised to 25-8 and 25-11 victories in games two and three respectively.
"A lot of our kids played a little better tonight than they have been playing," said Tiger head coach Ron Kidder. "We played hard and a lot of different kids got to play tonight."
Article Photos
MIKE MORRISON The Marietta Times
The Marietta High girls volleyball team shares a laugh during prep action against Zanesville Rosecrans at Sutton Gym Tuesday. MHS won in a three-game sweep.
The big win in game one allowed the Marietta head coach to not only get some girls into the line-up that may not usually get much playing time but also allowed Kidder the opportunity to let some girls play in different spots than they are accustomed to. "We all got to play some different positions," said Tiger junior Gracie Haas, who finished the game with six points, five aces, four kills, and three digs. "We all still played our game. Every game we just keep improving."
Senior Alexis Walsh paced the Tiger attack with 16 points, 11 assists and five digs, while fellow senior Haley Bonar added 10 points, four kills, to go along with two aces, two assists and two digs.
Kristen Hill chipped in with nine points, seven digs, four aces and four kills, while Kaitlyn Cozzens totaled five points and five assists to go along with a pair of aces and a kill.
Fact Box
Marietta def. New Philadelphia 25-3, 25-8, 25-11
Marietta (7-3 overall, 3-1 ECOL)
Alexis Walsh: 16 pts., 11 asst., 5 digs, Haley Bonar: 10 pt., 4 kills, 2 ace, 2 asst., 2 digs, Kristen Hill: 9 pts., 7 digs, 4 asst., 4 aces, Gracie Haas: 6 pt., 5 aces, 4 kills, 3 digs, Kaitlyn Cozzens: 5 pts., 5 asst., 2 aces, 1 kill, Mattie Miller: 5 pt., 3 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill, Lain Weppler: 5 assists, 2 kills, 1 block, Courtney Crum: 5 pt., 4 digs, 3kills, Holly Hutchinson: 4 pt., 3 digs, 2 kills, Chrystal McCoy: 1 pt., 1 dig.
Next game: at New Philadelphia, Thursday.
From Monday
Marietta def. Philo 25-17, 25-12, 25-18
Marietta: Gracie Haas 10 points, 3 aces, 5 kills, 2 digs 2 blocks
Mattie Miller 9 points 4 aces, 8 digs
Kourtney Crum 9 points 4 aces, 6 digs
Kaitlyn Cozzens 7 points, 4 aces, 3 kills, 24 assists, 6 digs
Lexi Walsh 6 points 1 ace, 13 digs
Abby Harrison 3 points 1 ace
Kristen Hill 1 point, 9 kills, 6 digs 2 blocks,
Lain Weppler 8 kills, 1 dig , 1 block
Hailey Bonar 3 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks
Holly Hutchison 2 kills, 2 digs
JV: Marietta def. Philo 25-18, 20-25,25-20
Cozzens felt that this may have been one of the best performances of the season for the Tigers and likes the way the team appears to be coming together.
"At the beginning of every season you never know what is going to happen," said Cozzens. "It seems like every game we seem to get progressively better and I feel like we are playing well as a team."
The win improved the Tigers season record to 7-3 and 3-1 in the ECOL.
"The kids had fun tonight. They had to come out and do the fundamentals no matter what the score is," said Kidder, the long time Tiger head coach. "We are getting better every time we get on the court and thats what you are looking for."
Kidder hopes to see his squad peaking at just the right time as the season moves on. "We need to get better each game no matter what team we are up against," said Kidder. "We need to be at our best come tournament time."
The Tigers will next travel to New Philadelphia Thursday to battle the Quakers in another ECOL tilt.
