SHEFFIELD — The match ended on a block kill. It was appropriate.
Blocking was probably the biggest reason Keystone regained first place in the Patriot Athletic Conference with a three-game victory over Brookside on Tuesday. The Wildcats won 25-23, 25-14, 25-21.
Keystone had 13 block kills to only two for the Cardinals. Three Keystone players reached double-figures in blocks.
“That was, by far, our best blocking night of the year,” Keystone coach Jim Horvath said. “We made some adjustments in our blocking, and the girls worked it to perfection.”
Jocelyn Anderson led the way by combining for 15 blocks and seven kill blocks. Rachel Hasel also had seven kill blocks and 12 total blocks. Chloe Irish had 10 blocks with three block kills and Erin Gallagher had six blocks and combined for four kill blocks.
Ali Gendron and Kayla Lee led Brookside with two blocks each.
“We made (Keystone) look like the blocking champions tonight,” Brookside coach Ted Whitsel said. “I told our team that when you’re a hitter you have to do more than just hit. You have to hit down or hit through. That was the biggest difference.”
The victory lifted Keystone (13-5, 9-1 PAC) into a tie for the conference top spot with Buckeye. Brookside, which entered the match ranked No. 20 in Ohio in Division II, dropped to 14-2 and 9-2 PAC. Both of the Cardinals’ losses have been to Keystone.
“We didn’t put the offense out there that we wanted,” Whitsel said. “And it happened the first time (against Keystone). We didn’t hit well then, either.”
But it was more than just superior blocking that lifted the Wildcats to victory. Keystone made only 11 unforced errors to 25 for Brookside. The difference was glaring in the last two games with Brookside committing 20 unforced errors to just six for the Wildcats.
“We beat a tough team Saturday (Lexington),” Horvath said. “It proved to our players that if they can execute on their side of the net, we’re pretty tough to beat. You saw us execute tonight. All year we’ve talked about not shooting ourselves in the foot. That’s what we can do when we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Keystone twice rallied to win. Brookside opened a 12-5 lead in the first game, with Gendron getting five kills, and was in front 20-13 before the Wildcats put on a rush, led by Casidy Gregory’s four kills and Andersen’s two kills and a kill block.
“Volleyball is a game of momentum,” Whitsel said. “If we had continued the momentum when we had it in the first game, it might have been us on the winning side of a three-game sweep.”
Game 2 was close most of the way. Keystone was ahead 15-13 until finishing on a 10-1 run. The Cardinals opened an 8-1 lead and were ahead 11-4 in the third game until the Wildcats outscored them 13-2. Brookside managed to tie it at 19-19, but the ’Cats scored the next four points and ended it on Hasel’s fourth kill block of the game.
Andersen, Gregory and Irish led Keystone with eight kills each. Amy Ricciardi (17 assists) and Andersen (11 assists) shared setting for the Wildcats. Gregory had 17 digs and Kim Kokoski added 11 digs.
Gendron paced all hitters with 15 kills. Steffany Seiler added 11 kills for the Cardinals. Kyleigh Whitsel was 113-of-114 setting with 36 assists. Amber Wiley and Tina Giusti led Brookside in digs with 21 and 19, respectively.
Contact Steve Byrne at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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