The Olentangy Orange girls volleyball team used solid service by junior Megan McCollum to ride a 16-0 first-set run to a straight-set victory at Big Walnut Tuesday night in Sunbury.
The Pioneers (2-0), who have yet to lose a set in their first two games, won 25-10, 25-23, 25-18, spoiling the Golden Eagles’ opener.
McCollum had a pair of aces during the early run and the Pioneers got a solid performance by junior setter Carrigan O’Reilly, who had five assists during the run.
“Megan McCollum had a phenomenal serving run,” Orange coach Katie Duy said. “She just did a great job of keeping them out of system and we were firing on all cylinders. When we do that – we’re a great team. But, we have a lot of work to do to get there consistently.”
Sophomore Madison Moll had five kills and freshman London Davis added four to pace the Pioneers on their way to a convincing 25-10 first-set win.
“(Davis) is probably one of the most coachable kids in the gym,” Duy said. “She’s very athletic … (she) wants to get better. I’m very excited about her … one of the hardest hitters I’ve seen in high school volleyball.”
Davis led the Pioneers with 11 kills, Moll added 8 and freshman Tazmin Appiah added 7 kills and 3 blocks. Junior Sydney Gossard led with 5 blocks.
“(Davis) puts the ball away,” O’Reilly said. “It helps us because it makes the other team commit to her, so it gives (us) other options like Madison on the right side.”
O’Reilly, a Xavier commit, was solid all night on the set. She finished with 23 assists.
“She’s grown up a lot over the last couple of years,” Duy said. “She just started setting her freshman year. She’s very athletic … she continues to learn the game and she’s just going to continue to get better.”
“I try to get excited for everybody,” O’Reilly said. “Once you get excited for everybody and show confidence in everybody – that’s what makes your team thrive.”
BW coach Ron Lehman said his team needs more consistency.
“The first set was horrible … really disappointing,” he said. “Mentally, I don’t know what was going on. They obviously didn’t play well. The second and third (sets), they played much better, but not consistently.”
Kelsie Imertreijs led with 8 kills, Haley Rammelsberg and Haley Griffith had 4 kills apiece and Kassie Bowmar added 3 kills to lead the Eagles (0-1). Samantha Bickley led service with a pair of aces.
“I thought Machaela (Podraza) set the ball really well and served tough,” Lehman said. “Kelsie Imertreijs hit the ball very well and Haley Rammelsberg hit pretty consistently, too.”
Next up, both teams continue non-league play Thursday at 7 p.m. Orange hosts Hilliard Davidson while BW visits Westerville Central.
Also: Dublin Coffman def. Olentangy 3-0; Liberty def. Maysville 3-0.
BOYS SOCCER
Olentangy 1, Dublin Jerome 1; Orange 3, Pickerington Central 0; Hayes 2, Big Walnut 0.
GIRLS SOCCER
Hilliard Bradley 1, Liberty 0; Dublin Jerome 4, Orange 0; Watkins Memorial 2, Hayes 0; Buckeye Valley 5, Johnstown 2.
GIRLS GOLF
Orange 140, Watterson 176.
