Mount spiked by Bears, 3-0

by TOM UTESCHER

Last Tuesday Merion Mercy Academy forced Mount St. Joseph to share the first-place ranking in Bicentennial League volleyball, beating the Magic on their home court in three straight games.

Back in September, the Mount had won a five-game bout on the road against defending champ Merion, capturing the first MSJ victory over the Golden Bears since 1998. Last week's outcome gave both teams a 10-1 record in league play, with one Bicentennial match remaining for each franchise.

Both the Magic and Merion were missing a key senior at the time of last week's encounter (MSJ's Margaret Flynn is out with a broken ankle.) Kills by juniors Cara Mulholland and Kait "The Wizard" Woznicki staked the locals to a 6-3 lead at the start of the first game, but the Bears roared back with seven unanswered points. The score leveled off at 13-13, and later the clubs were tied at 20-20.

When the visitors edged ahead 23-21 the Magic called time-out, and a few minutes after play resumed the teams were locked up at 24-all. A blast by Mulholland was knocked up into the ceiling by the Bears for a 25th Mount point. Kills by Julie Pickhaver and Tara Lane gave Merion a 26-25 edge, then Mulholland found the floor on an opened-handed slap.

The visitors moved ahead again on a net violation by the hosts, and then Julianne Rose of the Bears delivered a true service ace. Her ball went untouched as she found a seam just to the right of the center of the court, giving Merion a 28-26 win despite a game-high seven kills by the Mount's Mulholland.

Unfortunately for the Magic, the next two games were not as close. With Lane furnishing three spikes and other scores on two tips and a block, the Golden Bears broke out to a 9-4 lead in game two and then went up 15-7 a bit later.

Two Merion miscues and a kill by sophomore Katie Kirsch of the Mount narrowed the gap to five points. The figures rose to 19-14 as a 4-0 spurt by the visitors was answered in kind by Mount St. Joe, thanks to two hits and a block by Woznicki and a blown serve by the Bears. Merion called a time-out, then ended the game with a 6-3 run, sealing the 25-17 triumph on a hit out over the sideline by the locals.

One difference that was becoming evident between the teams was that the Bears were forced out of position less frequently than the Mount, and recovered more quickly when they were.

Nonetheless, the Magic gained a 5-2 foothold in the third game thanks to three kills by Mulholland and scores by Woznicki and Emily Trymbiski. Over the next few minutes, a pair of 4-0 stints helped the visitors gain an 11-7 advantage. After the count rose to 18-12 Merion seemed to lose its focus briefly, and four Bears errors and a Trymbiski hit brought the Mount back within one at 18-17. The score seesawed to 20-19, then the locals hit one ball into the net and two more out of bounds over the left sideline.

A block by Kirsch delayed defeat and got the Magic closer at 24-21, but the Bears captured match point on Pickhaver's third kill of the game.

In the three games Mount St. Joseph gave up a total of 42 points on errors, as opposed to Merion's 23.