Sterling twins lead the way in Warriors’ opening win over Newman

STERLING – The volleyball match between the Newman Comets and Sterling Golden Warriors started to sound like a broken record on Thursday evening in the Newman Central Catholic gym.

Bree Borum set, Brook Borum kill. Bree Borum set, Brook Borum kill. Bree Borum set, Brook Borum kill … you get the idea.

The Warrior twins connected 15 times, Bree setting up Brook for a kill, and they came in all varieties. In system and out of system, spikes straight down to the floor, tips in the middle of the Newman defense, and roll-shots into the back corners – you name it, Sterling scored on it in a 25-14, 25-15 victory.

“I definitely think we have a connection where she knows where I’m at and she knows where I like the ball,” said Brook, who finished with 18 kills, five points, an ace and a block. “Even if she’s off-system, she knows that I can do something with it. We were always told to work smarter, not harder, and I just think we always use that to our advantage.”

The Comets (1-1) opened the match with the first three points, then led 4-3 even after Brook Borum’s first two kills. But a Brook Borum kill tied it at 4-4, then another made it 7-5, then it was off to the races for the defending Class 3A state champs. Bree Borum’s tip-kill made it 10-6, then after a Jordyn Bryant ace, Bree Borum slammed a kill.

Bree then set up freshman Grace Egan for a kill, then finally found her twin for a spike that pushed the lead to 19-8.

Brook Borum had a hand in the final six points of the set – three kills and three service points – and she closed it out with an ace.

“It’s really awesome to see teams like that,” Newman senior Sierra Williams said, “because they push themselves in practice, we push ourselves in practice, and then they push us in the match. Every single time we play tough teams like that, all we do is learn from it.”

The Comets pushed back in the second set, as the teams traded points until Sterling turned a 9-8 lead into a 17-8 lead with another mid-set surge. Egan started that run with a block, then Macie Gebhardt spiked a kill in the middle before Brook Borum had a pair of kills around a Newman hitting error. After a Comet timeout, Brook had another kill, then Gebhardt stuffed a block for the Warriors’ eighth straight point.

From then on, every time Newman scored a couple of points and tried to start a run of its own, Brook Borum served as the stopper with a kill. Bree Borum’s back-row slam made it 23-15, then she set Egan for a kill before Gebhardt closed out the win with a block.

The big runs and getting points on out-of-system balls were the big key for Warriors on a night when they out-killed the Comets 29-15 and outblocked them 7-1.

“Those are things we definitely work on, just starting strong and trying to get those big runs so we can just bury teams,” Brook Borum said. “We know we’ve got to be able to fire back and get kills on out-of-system plays, and I think we did both of those things well tonight, and in the end that’s just going to really help us.”

Bree Borum finished with 18 assists and five kills, Gebhardt had three blocks and a kill, and Riley Dittmar chipped in seven assists and five points. Bryant had five points and an ace, Amayia Hernandez added seven kills and three points, and Egan finished with three kills, two blocks, 12 points and an ace in her first varsity match.

“I was really nervous; I think it was probably the second set when I finally was able to calm down a little bit,” Egan said. “It was just really fun to be out there playing tonight.”

Aidan Brown led the Comets with five kills, and her twin sister Macaire dished 10 assists. Ally Clevenger had three kills, Williams spiked two kills, and Kiley Sanders finished with three kills, five points and two aces.

After opening the season with a two-set win over United Township on Tuesday, the Comets knew they were in for a tougher test in their second match, but felt good about themselves despite the loss.

“Obviously they are a very good team,” Williams said, “but we love to play teams like that because they give us off-speed and they give us hard hits, and it makes us work and see what we need to work on.”

“I think it’s definitely a good loss,” echoed libero Erin Kelly, who opened the match with a short speech declaring the Comets’ support for missing Sterling libero Lexi Rodriguez, who will play for the U.S. Youth National Team in Cairo starting next week. “They got first in state last year in 3A, and we’re a 1A school. It’s really easy to learn from it and grow, and it’s only going to make us better to play against teams like this – especially for back row, having those balls hit at us at a hard speed is only going to make us better.”

Volleyball

Sterling def. Newman 25-14, 25-15

Star of the match: Brook Borum, Sterling, 18 kills, 5 points, 1 ace, 1 block

Key performers: Bree Borum, Sterling, 18 assists, 5 kills; Grace Egan, Sterling, 3 kills, 2 blocks, 12 points, 1 ace; Aidan Brown, Newman, 5 kills, 1 block; Macaire Brown, Newman, 10 assists

Up next: Sterling at Metea Valley Invite, today & Saturday; Newman at Dixon, 6 p.m. Tuesday