Freeport continues dominant run by sweeping Deer Lakes
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Tuesday, September 26, 2017 | 11:24 PM
The Freeport girls volleyball team swept its first five Section 5-AA matches.
Rival Deer Lakes almost matched that. One dropped set last Thursday in a four-game victory over Derry was all that kept the Lancers from perfection in its 5-0 start.
First place in the section was on the line as Freeport and Deer Lakes battled Tuesday at Freeport Middle School.
The Yellowjackets started strong and didn't let up as they swept three games from the Lancers, 25-8, 25-8 and 25-15.
“It's always good to beat a rival,” said Freeport junior outside hitter Allison DeJidas, who had eight kills and eight service points.
She had four kills to help the Yellowjackets seal the victory in the third set.
“We were all pumped up in school (Tuesday),” she said. “We realized how big of a match this was in the section.”
The recent stretch for Freeport included a 3-1 win last Thursday over Quad-A Fox Chapel and a victory Saturday at the Freeport Fall Fest tournament.
“We were really prepared for this match,” Freeport coach Tom Phillips said. “We played some good ball against some really good teams over the weekend, and it carried over to (Tuesday).”
Freeport and Deer Lakes split the first four points in Game 1 before the Yellowjackets went on a 10-0 run to take control.
The streak forced Lancers coach Terry Gaston to call a timeout and regroup his troops.
However, Freeport didn't let up on the pressure. A mixture of powerful Freeport offense and several hitting and passing errors by Deer Lakes resulted in the wide Game 1 margin.
“We were aggressive and did a good job of forcing them to make mistakes,” DeJidas said.
Freeport limited Deer Lakes' runs in Game 2 and built leads of 11-3 and 15-6 before ending the game at 25-8 on a 9-0 spurt.
The final point of the game came on an emphatic kill from sophomore outside hitter Lauren Lampus, who had 18 service points and seven digs.
Deer Lakes tried to get back in the match in Game 3 and was within 11-9 before Freeport started to pull away for the 25-15 win.
As with the first game, the third game came to an end when a Lancers kill attempt landed beyond the Yellowjackets' end line.
“We had too many hitting and passing errors,” Gaston said. “We just couldn't get our hitters going the way we wanted. We turned it around a little bit in the last game, but Freeport is a very good team.”
Junior Lydia Fink led the Lancers with 18 digs, and fellow junior Kaylee Sciubba added nine digs and five kills.
“I told the girls that the first half is over, and they are 5-1,” Gaston said. “We haven't been 5-1 since I've been coaching. They beat who they had to. This was a big challenge, and it's tough to win (at Freeport). But I know we will play them better at our place.”
Freeport senior setter Courtney Grubbs finished with 14 assists, two aces and 14 service points; junior middle blocker Sarah Hettich added six blocks and three kills; senior libero Claire Crytzer had 10 service points and 13 digs; and junior middle blocker Haley Graham delivered 10 service points and three kills.
“We played pretty solid defense and got in some good swings, and our middles played well,” Phillips said. “I am happy with where we are right now.”
The second half of the section slate begins Thursday as Freeport hosts Apollo-Ridge. Deer Lakes is off until next Tuesday when it travels to Apollo-Ridge.
Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.
Tags: Deer Lakes, Freeport
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