Larkin gets it going, cruises past Elgin
After a slow start, Larkin finally got going.
Trailing early in the first game, the Royals found their rhythm and rolled on to defeat Elgin, 25-19, 25-15, in Upstate Eight Conference River Division volleyball action at Chesbrough Field House Tuesday.
The secret to Larkin’s turnaround was pretty simple.
“We just had more fun,” said Brianna Stewart, who had 10 kills for the Royals. “When we have fun, we’re looser and do a lot better.”
Trailing 8-7 in Game 1, the Royals scored 3 straight points to take the lead for good. Two of those points came on service aces by Stewart.
Olivia Kofie also had 10 kills and 8 digs for the Royals (13-10, 2-1). Alexis Price added 7 kills. Setter Alyssa McGee had 24 assists.
“Our first game was a little bit slow, but the second game we picked it up and were where we should be,” said Royals’ coach Henry Graack. “(Stewart) had a couple of big blocks for us. Blocks are always momentum killers for the other team.”
The Royals’ big middle blockers caused the Maroons fits. Stewart and Paige Grantham had 3 blocks apiece, and Isabella Orozco added a pair.
“Coming in today, I thought we were really fired up in Game 1,” said Elgin coach Scott Stewart. “The only problem I saw was when Kofie and (Stewart) were up front blocking. My girls are 5-foot-10. I don’t think I could block those two.”
Melanie Berg had 4 kills to lead Elgin. Libero Taylor Hedl had 4 digs and a kill, and setter Tanya Welch had 10 assists.
Scott Stewart saw improvement in his team from an earlier meeting with Larkin.
“My team tonight compared to when we played Larkin two weeks ago in the tournament was like night and day,” he said. “We rolled over and died that day. Today we knew that we could play with them.”
Larkin got out strong in Game 2, taking a 9-2 lead on a block by Price, and never letting up. A kill and a block by Brianna Stewart capped a 4-0 run that made it 21-11. The Maroons fought back with 3 straight points to make it 22-15, but a service error opened the door for Larkin. Price served the final 2 points, which included an ace and a kill by Kofie.