Girls volleyball: L-P starts on ‘great note’ with 2-set win over Princeton

LA SALLE-PERU – The La Salle-Peru volleyball team opened the season before a full A.J. Sellett Gymnasium on Tuesday, and the Cavaliers did not disappoint the home crowd.

The Cavs took control early in a 25-10, 25-14 victory over Princeton in a nonconference match.

“It feels great,” L-P senior Addison Urbanski said about opening the season with a win. “I think we did a fantastic job. Last year, I feel like we started a little slow. This year, I feel like we started off on a great note. We all did great. They energy was great.”

After the Tigresses scored the first two points of the match, L-P senior Addie Duttlinger set the ball to the corner for a sideout to give the serve to Marissa Sanchez.

L-P’s libero rattled off a six-point run – highlighted by two kills and a block by Ava Currie – to build a 7-2 lead.

“Just try not to kill it, just get them all in and keep them steady,” Sanchez said about the key to the run.

The Cavs broke the set open on a six-point service run by Katie Sowers. Freshman Aubrey Duttlinger made her presence felt during the surge as she had a block and slammed down two hard kills.

“I thought we were pretty consistent all night,” L-P coach Mark Haberkorn said. “I was happy with our balance offensively and defensively. I thought we had a lot of positives. I can’t think of anything that we struggled at, maybe serve-receive here and there. For the most part, our defense was solid, our setting was right there. We got good swings. We got good touches and we served awful well.”

The Cavs ended the first set on another three-point run by Sanchez with Urbanski putting the finishing touches on the first set with a kill.

L-P jumped to a 5-1 lead in the second set before Princeton rallied within two points at 11-9. However, the Cavs pulled away and closed the set on a 14-5 run.

“We played a little scared,” Princeton coach Andy Puck said. “Not very competitive. I had some youngsters on the floor and L-P is a dynamite team. I like opening with these guys because I can really understand where we’re at. Tonight was a humbling experience. We’ll get in the gym and work on a lot of things we got beat on tonight. A lot of it is between the ears. First ball sideout, not giving good teams free balls. I like how we competed at the net. I like how we competed in the back row.”

L-P’s veteran setters led the way for the Cavs as Urbanski had seven kills, six assists, five digs and a block, while Sowers had 16 assists, eight points and two kills.

“Our passing was fabulous,” Urbanski said. “I thought our hitting was great. I thought Katie and I did a good job. We did well seeing the court.

The Cavs had young hitters step up as Currie put down six kills and Aubrey Duttlinger had five kills.

“They’re fabulous,” Urbanski said about the young hitters. “They’re great people. Both of them want to do the best for the team. It’s such a great energy to bring. It’s so nice to have them. They’re hard workers.”

Sanchez led the L-P back row with 22 digs, while Kaylee Ebens had nine digs and Callie Mertes added six digs.

“We do a lot of back row practice, so I think it helps us communicate and to see our blockers so we can go around them so we can get those balls that are hard to see,” Sanchez said. “I feel like this season is going to be really good for us. It’s nice to start with a win so we can see where we can get better.”

Natasha Faber-Fox had five digs, four assists, four points and an ace for Princeton, while Miyah Fox had seven digs and two aces.

L-P swept the night as the sophomores won 26-24, 25-16, the freshman Red team won 25-13, 20-25, 15-8 and the freshman Green team won 25-20, 26-24.