Notes and Big Performances from Week 3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>The Lake Catholic Juggernaut</em></strong><br>Ranked #22 in the nation by one source, Lake Catholic is steam rolling over top competition. Following their 3-0 sweep of last year's DII state champ NDCL, the Cougars roared through this weekend's Lancer Invitational defeating traditionally strong programs in Gilmour Academy and Olentangy Orange on their way to the title. In their win last Thursday over NDCL senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='169128' first='Hannah' last='Pattie'] had 39 assists along with four service aces. Their offense is so difficult to defend given the depth of point scoring they have around the court, which included double-figure kills from three attackers in [player_tooltip player_id='169125' first='Katie' last='Sowko'] with a team high 11 kills as <strong>Claire Duricky</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='289187' first='Ava' last='Budrys Rini'] each contributed 10 kills. Sowko also had a team high 16 digs. Following their recent tournament win, Pattie was named MVP as Sowko and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='480797' first='Ahnna' last='Bergant']</strong> were named all-tournament. The Cougars' offense is averaging 14.5 k/s while hitting a collective .355 efficiency. They next face a big foe in Magnificat on the road this coming Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>The [player_tooltip player_id='169105' first='Karlee' last='Plozay'] Offensive Barrage</em></strong><br>Plozay, a 6'1 senior at Bethel is having a monster offensive season, picking up where she left off 2022 with a career high 33 kills performance in their final match last season. She is averaging 5.7 k/s so far in 2023 including finishing five of Bethel's nine matches terminating over 20 kills, including 27, 27, 25, and 21 kills respectively most recently. Plozay, a Notre Dame College commit, has good length as a pin attacker and is very effective anywhere on the floor and through both in- and out-of-system opportunities. She had 450 kills in 2022 alone and 1,129 total career kills she has a shot at reaching 1,500 kills for her varsity career by the end of this season if she can sustain her pace of success. With 657 career digs, she is averaging a career high 13.3 d/m this season. The Bees are 7-2 overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Galion Alone at the Top of the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference</em></strong><br><strong>Madelyn Shieber</strong>, the junior floor leader for Galion, is among the top total assists leaders in Ohio to date with 331 as the Tigers are 10-1 overall, including a perfect 5-0 record in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference. She is averaging 9.2 a/s, which includes a season's best 44 assists in the Tigers' latest 3-2 win over Pleasant. Shieber's top offensive threats include outside hitter <strong>Ashley Dyer</strong> who is terminating a team high 3.6 k/s. Dyer, a 5'8 senior, is crafty on the pins as she has good arm control to move the ball around well. With over 830 kills in her career, she also contributes 9.5 d/m. <strong>Hailey Young</strong> is a senior middle providing 2.6 k/s through the best team efficiency of .279. At 6'0, she helps anchor the Tigers' net defense well along with junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482488' first='Jillian' last='Capretta']</strong> as the duo has has 57 total blocks collectively. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482492' first='Audrey' last='Glew']</strong> leads Galion defensively at 13.6 d/m. Earlier last week Galion handled 2nd place Highland with a 3-0 sweep of the Fighting Scots, including a dominating 25-16 third set win to solidify the victory. They next face Willard (8-4) in a non-conference match on the road this Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->