Mars girls volleyball sweeps stalwart Freeport

By: Jerin Steele
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 | 9:55 PM

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A program on the rise was up against one of the established favorites in girls volleyball when Mars hosted Freeport on Tuesday night, and the Fightin’ Planets showed they are a force with which to be reckoned.

Mars built big leads early in sets and went on to secure a 3-0 sweep in a first-place showdown in Section 2-3A.

The Fightin’ Planets won 25-18, 25-16 and 27-25 and finished the first round of section play 5-0. Freeport fell to 4-1.

Mars coach Tamara Caraway said there’s a long way to go with rematches with Hampton, Knoch and Freeport remaining as well as a big nonsection contest with Beaver, but Tuesday night’s win was a big momentum boost.

“Obviously when you beat Freeport it means a lot,” Caraway said. “They’ve either won outright or shared 19 straight section titles, so if you’re on the floor with them and can beat them that gives you a lot of confidence.”

The Yellowjackets, who moved up from Class 2A to 3A this year, were without sophomore middle hitter Jayme Radvan because of a foot injury suffered at practice Monday night.

Freeport coach Tom Phillips said Radvan’s presence on the court was missed Tuesday.

“At times we had three freshmen out there and Emily (Boylan) stepped in and did a good job, but Jayme is a big part of our offense,” Phillips said. “We had to change our rotation around. When you lose your top middle (hitter), it’s a tough situation. I don’t think she will be out long, though.

“Any time you lose a player and have to change your rotation you lose confidence, and I think that’s the big thing we lacked today, especially early on. The first game you go down 10-3, and everyone is thinking they have to do a little bit more.”

Mars built a 10-point lead in each of the first two sets and never trailed in either of them.

“We served pretty tough, and that puts the other team out of system so that they can’t go to where they’d like to go,” Caraway said. “The other thing is having four attackers that can attack from anywhere on the court, and we attack all the time. We try to make sure that everything goes over with pace or a shot that causes enough chaos that when we get the ball back we can run our system.”

In the third set Mars jumped out in front again, but Freeport rallied to take a 20-17 lead, forcing a timeout.

Mars scored five of the next six points to pull ahead 21-20. The teams traded points until a Rylee Woodridge kill and a Cecilia Christy block gave Mars the 27-25 win.

Lily Javor led Mars with 14 kills, Woodridge had a dozen and Christy had seven. Gabi Weidemann contributed 34 assists.

“This is a great group of kids,” Caraway said. “They manage themselves well. If you look at stats, they’re usually pretty equal, because nobody is expecting the ball every time. When they compete together, it’s really tough to beat them.”

The rematch is set for Oct. 17 at Freeport. That match could determine whether Freeport extends its section title streak to 20.

“When I looked at the section, I knew it was going to be like this. I really did,” Phillips said. “But they have to come to our place. We have to get better and get healthier. We’re a very young team, but I’m proud of the way they fought tonight.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Freeport, Mars