By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
East Buchanan (11-5) started fast against St. Joseph Christian, and rode that momentum throughout in a 3-0 sweep over the Lions (25-15, 25-17, 25-23) at St. Joseph Christian High School Monday night.
The Bulldogs got off to a 5-0 start in the first set before going up 21-10 and taking the first set with relative ease at 25-15.
In the second, East Buchanan got behind 13-12, only to reel off a 12-2 run and win that one 25-17.
The Bulldogs built a 12-8 lead in set three, but the Lions refused to go away, leading 14-12 and 21-20 in the third before East Buchanan closed the door and scored the final two points in a 25-23 set three victory.
"They kind of fought back there at the end of the third," East Buchanan volleyball coach Ryan Horn said, "and they pushed back at us and we had a couple of situations we were trying to figure out, and I thought we just continued to fight. We didn't settle for letting them take that set, because we didn't want them to take the momentum."
Junior hitter Maya Watkins, who eclipsed 500 career kills just last week, led her team with 15 kills and three blocks. Sophomore Holly Caylor logged six kills, while freshman Rilyn Sherwood had five.
East Buchanan also had a solid night serving, managing eight ace serves compared to just two by St. Joseph Christian.
"We're not the greatest serving team in the world, but we're not that bad either," Horn said. "I just tell them to hit the ball in and they picked their spots and did a nice job with it."
St. Joseph Christian (13-2), who saw a seven-match winning streak end, was led by junior outside hitter Ella Bowman, who knocked down 11 kills, including six in the third set.
Sophomore Ella DuBois had a solid night, knocking down seven kills for the Lions.
St. Joseph Christian stays home Tuesday to host Nodaway Valley. East Buchanan returns to Gower to host Mid-Buchanan Thursday.
The Bulldogs split a pair of sets against the Dragons at the Lathrop tournament on Saturday. Mid-Buchanan beat East Buchanan in two sets in the KCI tournament on August 28.
"We just have to make sure we're out-hustling them," Horn said. "We struggled with that a little bit on Saturday, but we did a little bit better job of it tonight, so hopefully that carries over to Thursday."
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