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Marietta sweeps Warren in battle against cancer

Photo by Ron Johnston Marietta’s Betsy Wriston attempts a spike as Warren’s Caspen Ford (30) goes up for the block during a high school volleyball match Wednesday at Sutton Gym.

Marietta High claimed a rivalry volleyball sweep.

But after beating Warren, 25-11, in the opening set Wednesday night at Sutton Gymnasium, the Tigers (5-1) had to rally to win the second and third games by the identical score of 25-21.

“It’s a rivalry game, and you know how they go,” said MHS head coach Ron Kidder after the 2Teams1Cause Against Cancer match-up. “We didn’t play well, but Warren played hard.”

Marietta was led by hitter Hannah Kroft’s 15 kills and setter Kaitlyn McClead’s 28 assists. Betsy Wriston added eight kills, while libero Maddy Muntz and Maddi Scharff each had seven digs.

Sydney Wright nearly had a double-double for the Tigers with 10 digs and eight aces to go along with six kills and one block.

Marietta’s Betsy Wriston, left, hits the ball as Warren’s Abby Gilliand, right, goes up for the block during a high school volleyball match Wednesday at Sutton Gym. Marietta’s Emily Arnold (22) looks on. Photo by Ron Johnston

“Sydney’s playing really, really well right now,” Kidder said. “She’s been an all-around player for us. She jump serves, hits outside for us, and is a clutch player. We go to her when it’s tight, and she deliveries. I mean, she is getting better and better. She’s a go-to kid right now for us.”

Warren (2-3) was paced by Abby Gilliand’s six kills and six blocks. Madison Foy chipped in with five kills and 10 digs, while setter Haylee Morgan had 11 assists and five digs. Libero Lakyn Ellenwood finished with a match-high 12 digs, while Jacey Barnes added 11 digs. Myah Husted added three aces and seven digs.

“Abby Gilliand always stand out, but everyone of my hitters was reliable tonight,” said Warren boss Michelle Tyo. “We got a lot of touches on the ball. And Myah’s a reliable server.

“Defensively, we struggled a little bit, but overall we played well tonight.”

Marietta won the first game with relative ease, thanks in part to Kroft’s heavy hitting at the net. Fittingly, she closed it out with a kill.

In the second set, MHS had an early 7-3 advantage, but Warren came roaring back and tied it. The lead then went back and forth, and then it was tied at crunch time at 20-all. Taking advantage of a service out and a Warrior mishit, the Tigers took a three-point lead. After a royal blue and white timeout, the visitors from Vincent cut it to 23-21.

But the orange and black closed it out with two straight points.

“We shot ourselves in the foot in the game, missing serves,” Kidder said. “And you just can’t do that. Plus, (Gilliand) blocked well.

“You just have to keep the pressure on and not just try to cruise through it. We’ll learn, and we’ll get better.”

During the third set, Warren had the upper hand for most of the time, and owned a five-point advantage (14-9) on one occasion. But Marietta hung tough, and it was tied again at 20-all after a Sophie Evans kill. And, once again, the Tigers closed it out with a 5-1 run with Kroft tipping home the game and match winner.

“The match was very tight,” Tyo said. “It was weird, because even though we got beat pretty good in the first set, the intensity was high the entire time. The second and third sets were real intense and we played well, but didn’t do enough to stop them.

“I definitely thought we were going to get them one set, but we made some mental errors in the last five points of the game. We just couldn’t do the things we needed to do. But I’m still very proud of them and the way they played tonight. That’s the most intense they’ve looked all season long.”

Ron Johnston can be reached at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com

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