NTL VOLLEYBALL: TOWANDA USES FAST STARTS TO DOWN CANTON (2024-10-09)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportCANTON — After losing four of their last five matches Towanda got a badly needed win at Canton, 3-0, in NTL volleyball action Tuesday.
The Black Knights never trailed in their first two set wins, 25-21 and 25-17, then pulled away late in the third set for a 25-21 victory.
“We needed a win,” said Towanda coach Cassie Smith. “The girls all knew it, they felt it, so there was kind of a sense of urgency walking into the gym tonight. They knew they needed this one.”
Brooklyn Evans had 11 kills, six points, four aces, four digs, and three blocks for Towanda as Kaya Johnson had seven kills, 10 points, two aces, a block, and two digs.
Karis Flynn notched 18 assists, six points, three digs, two aces, one block, and one kill with Lariah Long adding four points, four aces, three kills, and three digs.
Brynsen Vargason had five points, four digs, and an ace, Alyssa Dulaney finished with three points, three digs, one ace, and one kill, as Layla Miller had five digs, and Caedence Wells finished with one dig.
Addi Pepper had a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists for Canton, to go with three kills, one dig, and one ace.
MaKenna Seachrist finished with 11 points, eight kills, two digs, three blocks, and two aces, as Kendall Kitchen finished with 11 digs, seven points, and two assists.
Cailyn VanNoy added five points, six kills, one assist, and four digs, with Tara Gilbert getting five digs, three kills, one assist, and one ace.
Nevaeh Vroman had five points, six assists, one kill, and one dig, Addy Cardona had two kills with a block, and Ally Marbaker finished with an assist, and a dig.
Towanda showed off some of that urgency by jumping up to a 13-3 first set lead behind four aces and three kills.
Canton, who hadn’t practiced since last Wednesday, was coming off a 3-2 win over South Williamsport late Monday night, and looked a little flat to start, but began chipping away after falling down points.
They cut it to 13-6 thanks to kills from Cardona and VanNoy. That was followed by three straight errors from the Warriors, making it 16-6.
Two errors from Towanda, followed by a Vroman kill saw the Warriors make it a 7-point match.
After the two teams traded points a Johnson kill put the Knights up 18-10, but that’s when the Warriors began to rally.
Using a pair of Towanda errors to get some momentum Seachrist and VanNoy hit a couple kills to make it 19-15.
After a Warrior attack was out they got three straight kills to make it a 20-18 match.
That’s when Evans stepped up for Towanda, getting the serve back off a kill. After a Canton attack went into the net Evans added an ace to get the Knights up 23-18.
The Warriors scored three of the next four points, but couldn’t keep things rolling as an attack was called out, giving Towanda a 25-21 first set win.
“Canton, they’re a good team, they’re not one that you can sleep on,” Smith said. “You can’t give them easy points, so, to have our girls go out there and get that lead, it’s what they needed to do to get that win.”
The second set was back and forth early, though Towanda scored three straight points at one point - two of them off kills from Vargason and Long - to go up 9-6.
They kept that advantage to 10-8 when got their offense going, scoring four of the next five points - all on kills - to take a 14-9 lead.
Canton, though, would chip away, usually off Towanda hits into the net, eventually tying it up at 17-17.
After a Towanda time-out a Canton serve into the net gave them the ball back up one point.
Long went back to serve, and didn’t stop until she rattled off seven straight points for the 25-17 win. She had two aces during that stretch, while also getting two kills from Johnson.
“She had a great night from the service line,” Smith said about Long. “We’re glad, because she needed that, too.”
Canton would get their first lead of the night on a Kitchen ace to open up the third set. It didn’t last long as Towanda rattled off five straight points en route to a 12-4 lead.
Evans led the way with four kills and a block, while Johnson also had a kill.
Seachrist would rally Canton, though, getting the ball back with a kill, then serving up four straight points - two of them aces - to cut it to 12-9.
After that a few Towanda passing errors would make it 14-13, but a Johnson kill ended that run.
Towanda began to reassert themselves, with the help of back to back Long aces, to take an 18-14 advantage.
Canton rallied behind back to back blocks from Seachrist to tie things up at 19-all.
However, a Canton net serve put Towanda up by one, then Flynn had a tip kill for a 21-19 lead. A Canton attack missed the floor putting them three points down, 22-19.
A bad Towanda attack gave Canton the serve back, but they swung it into the net for a 23-20 score.
After a Towanda error made it 23-21 Evans would finish things off with a block, then an ace, for the 25-21 win.
“I love seeing her do that as a captain and a leader,” Smith said. “We’re always trying to get her to own the net up there, and do it on the service line. She did really well tonight doing that, and it keeps the rest of the team in the game, too.”
Canton won the JV match, 2-1. They took the first set 25-17, with Towanda winning the second 25-13. The Warriors won the match with a 15-6 third set victory.
Vroman had four aces, six assists, one kill, and three digs with Cardona getting nine kills, and two aces.
Emilia Pepper had three kills, four digs, and two aces, as Maci Colton added five assists, a kill, and two digs.
Alyssa May notched eight digs, two kills, and three aces, with Danah Wesneski getting four kills, two aces, and an assist.
Ashley Valera had five digs, an assist, and one kill while Jericka Strozyk added three digs.
Ali Hollett had seven digs, four aces, five assists, and two kills for Towanda as Hannah Crawford had three kills, and two aces.
Kylie Barnes had two aces with a dig, and London Decker notched two kills and two digs.
Kendall Kellogg finished with four digs, a kill, and three aces, as Alayna Rankin finished with two digs, a kill, and an ace.
Addy Barrett had two kills with Layla Longcoy and Nozila Ismailova each getting four digs. Molly Roberts and Reese Sullivan had one dig apiece.
Canton (8-8) will be getting a much needed break as they’re off the rest of the week, while Towanda (5-7) will try to get back to .500 by the end of the week with home matches against Sayre (Thursday) and Hughesville (Saturday).
Expect them to focus on defense going forward and then move on from there.
“There’s always stuff to work on, but that confidence, and just going out there, and attacking,” Smith said.
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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