Local Sports

Warren volleyball makes statement to begin postseason

VINCENT - Close to perfect as it gets.

Those were the sentiments expressed by Warren volleyball coach Kaitlyn Cremeans when asked about the body of work her girls put on the court following Wednesday's 25-8, 25-8, 25-9 win over Washington Court House in an Division IV district quarterfinal match at Warren High School.

"Yeah, that was good," Cremeans said.

There was never any doubt the No. 3-seeded Warriors (18-3) would not suffer similar fate as last year when they lost in the first round in the postseason. Their next test is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29 at Logan High School against No. 6 Waverly.

"Coming in, our goal was to keep (Washington Court House) under 10 each set - and we did just that," Cremeans said. "I would have liked to see us do maybe a bit more around my defense. I wish our offense was maybe a bit quicker at times.

"But not a bad performance. I'm happy with the result, happy with the outcome."

The primary suspects were at their best yet again for Warren, especially senior Elayna Greenwalt, who registered 22 kills and crept even closer to 1,000 for her high school career.

"Elayna is a big, big hitter for us - she produces all the time. She had a great night for her. She is maybe a little under 80 kills for 1,000, so we are hoping we keep doing what we are doing out there.

"We tell Elayna all the time, when she is not having a good game everybody in the gym still thinks this is the Greenwalt show at the end of the day. A bad game for her is not a bad game for anybody else in here."

The combination of Elayna and her sophomore sister, Taylor, wore out the middle of the front row and combined for 31 kills.

Of course, having teammates like Jaelynn Nichols and Lizzie Reeder from the service line keeping the Blue Lions on edge on the defensive end make Wednesday's win that much easier. Nichols finished with 22 service points with two aces, while Reeder had 10 points with four aces.

Warren trailed just once the entire night - at 3-2 in the third set. Moments later, the Warriors took the lead for good, and at 8-6, Elayna Greenwalt served seven straight points on the strength of two aces.

At no time during the match did Washington Court House score more than two straight points.

"This is a strong team, strong in caliber," Cremeans said. "The record kind of shows that. Right? But their performance also does when they come in or whatever court we are playing on.

"We are looking to keep advancing and moving forward. I wanted to set a realistic goal for this team, and they set a goal of reaching the Sweet 16. That means making it through districts."

Division IV District Quarterfinal

At Warren High School

Warren def. Washington Court House 25-8, 25-8, 25-9

Individual Leaders

Washington Court House (2-18). Scoring: Braegan Schiltz 1, Gracie Moore 2, Olivia Sexton

Warren (18-3). Kills: Elayna Greenwalt 22, Taylor Greenwalt 8. Scoring: Jaelyn Nichols 22 (2 aces), Lizzie Reeder 10 (4 aces), Elayna Greenwalt 8 (2 aces), Charleigh Hoff 2, Remi Elzey 7, Taylor Greenwalt 4 (3 aces)

Records: Warren 18-3, Washington Court House 2-18

Next match: District semifinals, Warren vs. Waverly, 7:45 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 29) at Logan High School.