NTL VOLLEYBALL: NEB GETS SWEEP OF TOWANDA (2022-09-21)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportROME — Young teams tend to be up-and-down, and Northeast Bradford, who have no seniors on the roster, are no exception. On Tuesday, though, they were definitely up as they swept Towanda in NTL volleyball action.
“I think they’re one of our biggest rivals, and just to win in three sets is amazing,” Susanj said.
It was a different performance for the Panthers, who lost in five sets last week against the Trojans.
“We have a lot of things that we worked on in practice,” said NEB coach Vanessa Perez. “They have a lot of talent, but they just get in their heads. They’re a young group, and they kind of have to get used to just playing with each other, and not depending on one single person.”
NEB won the sets 25-9, 25-19, and 25-21 behind a strong attack up front that produced 30 kills on the night.
“They were on,” remarked Perez. “They were on, but it starts with our defense. We’re able to hit because we picked up so much. We gave them so many reps.”
Emma Neuber led the way with eight kills to go with four digs, two aces, a point, and an assist, while Abby O’Connor had six kills, one block, four aces, and two digs.
Toni Herb notched six kills, three points, six aces, and three digs, while Alexis Corter had two kills.
“I feel like I can just set to anyone, and it’s being put down no matter what,” remarked Susanj.
She finished with three kills, 20 assists, and seven digs, while Kiarra DeLancey had one ace, two points, and six digs. Kelsea Moore chipped in with a dig, as well.
For the Knights Paige Manchester had 11 kills, five blocks, 19 digs, and three points, while Addy Maynard had six digs, and seven points.
Brynn Woodruff finished with five digs, one block, and three points, while Shay Greenland had four digs, three assists, and three points. Brea Overpeck notched six digs, five assists, six points, four kills, and a block, while Gracie Schoonover had three kills and two blocks.
Aziza Ismailova finished with 13 digs, as Winter Saxer added two blocks, one point, and one dig. Brooklyn Evans had one dig, and one kill, while Brook Cease finished with two digs.
It was a rough start for Towanda, who got in late last night after dropping a match out at Wellsboro in five sets. The Panthers jumped out to a 12-1 lead. The closest the Knights got it was 15-5 off a Manchester kill, but NEB scored four straight points after that, including an Herb kill and a Neuber ace, to go up 19-5.
Down the stretch they out scored Towanda 6-4 for the 25-9 win.
The Knights got their second wind in the second set, as they took a 5-2 lead early. NEB would get three straight points to make it 5-5.
Towanda would retake the lead 6-5, but NEB then rattled off four straight points, including kills from Neuber and Herb, and a Neuber ace, to go up 9-6.
The Knights would chip away, cutting it to 10-8, but an Herb kill and a DeLancey ace kept NEB ahead.
The Panthers kept the lead, with Towanda getting it to 17-15. That’s when O’Connor got the serve back with a kill, kicking off a six point push for NEB, which included back to back kills from Susanj, along with kills from O’Connor and Herb, to go up 23-15.
Towanda would rally, but it was too little, too late, and the Panthers took the second set 25-19.
In the third set NEB would once again leak out in front, taking a 6-3 lead early. The deficit got as big as 14-7, but that’s when Towanda showed some fight.
They rattled off six straight points to cut it to 14-13, behind two kills and a block from Manchester.
A woodruff ace would knot things up at 15-15, and the Knights even took a brief 16-15 lead. But an O’Connor block, followed by back to back aces from Herb put NEB up 18-16.
Manchester brought her team back with a kill and a block, tying it at 18-18. An NEB attack into the net made it 19-18 Knights, but they gave the lead back on an unforced error on the next point.
Tied at 19-19 NEB got the big push as O’Connor scored aces on four of the next five points to make it 24-19 Panthers. Three points later a Towanda attack was out, giving NEB the win.
Towanda will host CV on Thursday, while NEB is off until next week, as they continue to try and find some consistency. This win, though, gets them back to .500, and will go a long ways to helping them improve.
“I think we’re just going to focus on passing, and trying to get it down more, because we had a lot of volleys that should have ended earlier,” said Susanj.
Towanda won the JV match 25-13, 11-25, and 15-8.
Evans had seven points, three kills, five assists, and two digs for the Knights, while Aislyn Strange had two digs, two kills, and five points.
Lacie Coe had five digs, a kill, and one point, with Woodruff getting eight digs, four kills, and six points.
Cadence Wells finished with 10 points, and a dig, while Ayanna Barker getting one kill. Allison Edsell had one kill, as Layla Miller finished with three digs, one kill, and three points. Alyssa Dulaney chipped in with one block, and one kill.
For NEB Kami Edsell had 10 kills and three aces, while Sayde Heines finished with two kills. Abby Chobot added two kills, with nine assists, as Amanda Allabaugh had a kill, with an assist. Kayah Frasier notched four digs, with two assists, and a block, as Abby Keeney had a dig and an ace.
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PHOTO CAPTION: NEB’s Emma Neuber goes for a kill between Towanda’s Gracie Schoonover (left) and Brea Overpeck…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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