Bay sophomore Claire Wilson tries to hit through a Rocky River double block during last Thursday’s three-set win over the Pirates.

Rocket spikers off to strong start in WSC
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Sept. 23, 2009

Last year, the Bay volleyball team stunned Holy Name on its way to the Division II district tournament.

This year, the Rockets have picked up where they left off with a 9-1 start after going 2-1 in last Saturday’s Independence Invitational. A tough 29-27, 26-24 loss to Strongsville was the team’s first loss of the season.

More importantly, the Rockets have started the West Shore Conference season unbeaten at 6-0 after last Thursday’s 25-18, 25-23, 25-22 win at Rocky River.

Bay libero Tori Carras serves against Rocky River last Thursday night. Carras and the Rockets are all alone in first place in the West Shore Conference after their win over the Pirates. (West Life photos by Larry Bennet)

“It is extremely gratifying to get the win at River and be alone in first place,” said Rockets head coach Tony Tahan. “We may have won it in three, but it was a fierce battle the whole way.

“Our girls are extremely aggressive with both their serving and attacking,” Tahan said. “We don’t want to send over any free balls. We want to stay aggressive all the time and put pressure on the other team’s defense. We blocked well against River, too, and went with them height-for-height.”

Senior middle Sarah Vick was a force against the Pirates with seven kills, while younger sister Rachel recorded seven blocks. Senior libero Tori Carras had 24 digs for the match, while junior setter Bridget Doughty dished out 25 assists.

“We didn’t win with our offense as much as we did it with our defense,” Tahan said. “The team that made the least mistakes that night was the one that was going to win.”

The Rockets faced a tough test at Independence last Saturday. They rallied to defeat Holy Name 22-25, 25-15, 25-11, then took care of Lutheran West 25-21, 25-20. Sarah Vick and outside hitter Marissa Radick were named to the all-tournament team.

Carras had a big night recently in a three-set win over WSC foe North Ridgeville. She set a team record with 21 serves in a row to help fuel the Rockets’ victory.

“She’s our best server and has scored a lot of points for us this year,” said Tahan. “She’s serving around 92-93 percent and drives the other teams crazy with the variety of serves she has.”

Read about other Westshore volleyball teams in the published edition of West Life, available on newsstands now.