The Mendon volleyball team, ranked No. 1 in Class C, traveled to Athens Thursday and beat Class D’s No. 8-ranked squad in three games. Though the Hornets won 25-16, 25-22 and 25-13, head coach Kathy Trenary said it was anything but a cakewalk.
“Trouble, trouble,” Trenary said. “Athens is a very good team. They didn’t let the ball hit the floor. Our serve was really helpful for us. We had to play long points against them. They don’t quite have as much offense as we do, but it was definitely troublesome. A really good test.”
Alexis Russell paced the Hornets with five aces and added 10 kills and a block. Loryn Baughman finished with 29 assists, 16 digs and a block. Jordan VanOss led the team with 23 digs and Brooke Howard put up a team-high 17 kills for Mendon, which improved to 24-6-2 overall.
“I think we just had to show persistence,” Trenary explained. “Sometimes when you get nervous you try to slow things down. You can’t do that. You have to stay persistent and go really aggressively. We were able to force some things with our serve and be tenacious and get more offense.”