ELYRIA — Sometimes losing a match can give a team plenty of incentive to bounce back.
Elyria had all the incentive it needed Thursday night against Solon in Northeast Ohio Conference volleyball action after a lethargic outing at Strongsville on Tuesday.
The Pioneers swept the Comets — 25-17, 25-18 and 25-15 — to claim at least a share of the NOC’s Valley Division title. Elyria improved to 13-4 overall and 7-1 in league play, while Solon fell to 7-10 and 4-5. The Pioneers, who lead Strongsville and Stow by two games in the NOC, close league play against Lakewood (0-7 NOC) and North Royalton (3-4 NOC) next week.
“Our girls fought,” said Pioneers coach Jody Johnson. “We played hard especially after a loss that we had against Strongsville on Tuesday. One of my coaches (Ray Pileski) reminded me of an Elyria team that lost to Sandusky after we were winning 14-1. We lost 16-14 during rally scoring but that team ended up going to state.
“He asked me, ‘Doesn’t that sound familiar?’ I played on that team. I know what it feels like to be the one that’s supposed to win and fall flat on your face. It’s what you do afterward. It’s what you learn that makes the difference.”
The Pioneers learned their lesson from Tuesday’s loss. Elyria rolled to an 8-0 advantage in Game 1, grabbed an early 9-6 lead in Game 2 and fought back from a 10-6 deficit in Game 3 to put away the Comets.
“One of the things we focused on in practice was not making the same mistakes over and over again,” said Johnson. “That really hurt us against Strongsville.”
Elyria may not have played flawlessly against Solon, but it certainly played well — especially senior setter Sarah Bracey. Bracey took turns getting the ball to the many Pioneers hitters.
“A lot of times we go with what’s been working,” said Bracey. “If the outside hitters are getting the kills, keep going to them. (On Thursday,) coach asked me to focus on where the blockers were. I noticed they were cheating a lot to the outside so I kind of mixed it up a lot more. We spread our offense so (Solon’s) defense would actually have to work.”
It’s one of the subtleties of volleyball. Solon never got into a rhythm on offense. It could only try to get the ball back to Elyria’s side of the net where the Pioneers defense was sharp as a tack.
Senior Amanda Medvetz (15 digs), junior Brittany Perrott (13) and sophomore Kristen Boros (10) managed to keep the ball off the floor and into the hands of Bracey, who delivered the ball with accuracy and precision. Bracey had 33 assists.
The Pioneers’ main weapons — Medvetz (12 kills), junior Bridgette Jones (8) and Boros (15) — had their share of kills, but senior Jacque Hawes and junior Jazmyn Corlew contributed as well.
“We (coaches) look at each rotation and decide how we can be a more effective team,” Johnson said. “That’s how we’ve been able to add more girls in. There are certain positions where we can put a stronger player in for maybe one or two plays. It makes us stronger.”
Solon senior Kelsey Kuehner had a good game for the Comets.
“When we come together as a team, we all play well,” said Solon coach Liz Guard. “(Kuehner) did a great job. She always does a great job. We have a lot of potential. We can do a lot of great things but we need to work on just being a team right now.”
“Our conference is very competitive,” said Johnson. “The records might not reflect the competition within this league. Solon is a very, very good team. They’ve had some injury issues and they were a little down (Thursday) but they have a very consistent game.”
VOLLEY FOR THE CURE: It was breast cancer awareness night at Elyria High on Thursday night. The Pioneers raised $4,025 with a variety of fundraisers. Both teams wore pink and a good number of fans joined in by purchasing special T-shirts to support the cause.
Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. 

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