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River rebounds, wins first match of season

• Pilots navigate way past Big Reds in 4 sets

BELLAIRE — A pair of teams looking to break into the win column for this first time this young prep volleyball season met Tuesday evening inside Bellaire High’s ”House of Champions.”

Both the Big Reds and visiting River were eager to rebound after falling in their respective openers Monday. On this night, it was the Pilots that looked more polished, posting a 25-17, 25-14, 21-25, 25-7 victory.

”I think it was teammwork,” River head coach Judi Curtis remarked when asked about what contributed most to the win. ”And, we’ve worked a lot on serving. We’d struggled in our scrimmages on that and we’ve come a long way in that area.”

Allison Bennett scored 15 points, dished out 30 assists and recorded five aces and River jumped out to solid leads in all victorious games, also ones in which it never trailed.

The Pilots surged to a 9-3 lead in Game 1, thanks to a 6-0 run capped by a strong shot by Megan Dennis. Dennis finished with 10 points.

Bellaire closed the gap to four — 14-10– but River stretched its lead back to 18-11 on a point by Lauren Flannery. The junior had eight points, to go along with 15 kills, three aces and three blocks.

The Pilots jumped to another 9-3 advantage in Game 2, as well.

”Communication,” Curtis said when discussing the difference between Tuesday’s performance and Monday’s five-game loss at Bridgeport. ”That was the biggest thing.”

While Curtis pointed to serving as an area of success, Bellaire head coach Melissa Lahna pointed to that area of the game as her squad’s Achilles heel.

”We missed a ton of serves,” the first-year head coach noted. ”When we’re smiling and having a ton of fun we’re playing really well. But when we start making mistakes, it seems like we all implode.”

That being said, Lahna was encouraged by what she saw, especially during the Big Reds’ victory in Game 3. In it, Bellaire jumped out to an 8-5 lead and survived a furious River rally to win, scoring the final four points of the game after the Pilots clawed to a 21-21 deadlock.

”This was 10 times better than (Monday, a three-game loss at Shadyside),” she said. ”There were huge improvements and we made things happen. We just have to put it all together.

”I’m proud of (the team). Monday wasn’t good at all. (Tuesday), we did a lot of good things.”

Michael Flaherty had seven kills, four aces and three blocks for Bellaire, which returns to action Thursday at home vs. Buckeye 8 foe St. Clairsville. Cierra Davis added eight assists, while De’Asia Burney had five.

Katie Straub added nine points and six aces for River, which Morgan Mahoney and Cortney Sapp had seven points and seven kills, respectively.

”I was trying to play everyone,” said Curtis, whose team returns to action next Tuesday at home against Monroe Central.

”We’re still working on a lineup. I think they all deserve to be on the floor. They’re a good bunch of girls.

”Working together is the main thing.”

River won the reserve match, 25-19, 25-19.

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