Kofie, Larkin silence St. Edward
Larkin’s Olivia Kofie put down a kill on match point Thursday night and fired a glare at the St. Edward student section.
The junior just wanted to let them know she could hear them.
The kill on match point was Kofie’s 10th of the match and gave the Royals a 24-26, 25-11, 25-19 nonconference girls volleyball victory over the host Green Wave.
“Definitely hyped up because of all the loudness and the echoes in here,” Kofie said. “I like the competition. It’s a really loud gym. It’s hard to talk.”
Each team had runs of at least 5 consecutive points in the opening game. A 5-0 run gave St. Edward a 6-point lead at 12-6. The Royals (13-10) went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-14 lead.
Larkin had two game points, but a service error and a Katie Swanson kill erased those and tied the game at 24-24. A Larkin error gave the Green Wave (8-10) a game point and Swanson put the ball away for a 26-24 win.
“I think so,” St. Edward coach Jaime Dovichi said when asked if that was the best game the Green Wave played this season. “We’re really starting to click.”
Kofie opened the second game at the service line and served 11 straight points. A Brianna Stewart kill gave the Royals an 11-0 lead as they cruised to a Game 2 victory.
The Green Wave scored 6 of the first 7 points in the final game before the Royals went on an 8-1 run to take a 9-7 lead. Stewart’s 10th kill gave Larkin an 18-17 lead. Two errors forced Dovichi to call timeout with the Royals leading 20-17. The Green Wave stayed in the huddle too long and the referee blew the whistle to start play and Stewart served an ace with St. Edward not on the court.
“We were talking. I didn’t hear a second whistle,” Dovichi said. “I’m going to have to look it up, but I would think it would be a delay of game not a beckon to serve.
“I think it’s too bad that that’s how the refs were going to handle it. It was such a hard fought, good game.”
A Kofie kill followed by a Kofie block gave the Royals a 24-17 lead and match point. The Green Wave saved two match points before Kofie’s final kill.
“We’ve gone three a lot this season,” Larkin coach Henry Graack said. “It always seems like Game 2 is when we turn it around.”
Anna Gaston added 7 kills for the Royals. Kofie added 6 blocks and 9 digs. Stewart had 7 blocks, 9 digs and 3 aces. Diana Castillo had 20 assists.
Swanson led St. Edward with 10 kills and added 10 digs. Shannon Igielski added 6 kills. Rena Ranallo had 5 kills and 10 digs. Mallory Gross had 20 assists.