Todd gets milestone win; L-B, P-G share BVC lead

LIBERTY-BENTON &emsp;&emsp;3 CORY-RAWSON &emsp;&emsp;0 RAWSON – Liberty-Benton ran its Blanchard Valley Conference volleyball winning streak to 56 in a row on Wednesday and the Eagles gave coach Julie Todd a milestone memory as well in their 25-1, 25-8, 25-11 win over Cory-Rawson. Ranked No. 7 among Ohio's Division II schools, L-B improved to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the BVC. The win was also No. 200 for Todd, whose career record at the school includes Division III state championships in 2019 and 2021. Liberty-Benton dominated the first set behind an amazing serving display from Lauren Gerken. With L-B up just 2-1, the junior served 23 consecutive points, going 23-for-23 with nine aces. Gerken would add three kills and five digs. Karis Willow (16-17 spiking, 7 digs) led L-B with 11 kills, and Sophia Barbara (4 kills) and Katie Collert (2 kills) both had three blocks. Jada Todd had 11 assists and Alyssa Hanni-Wells had nine. Claire Spiess (7) and Kaytlin Erdeljac (5) led the Eagles in digs. Cory-Rawson remained winless at 0-12, 0-4 in the league. JUNIOR VARSITY: Liberty-Benton, 25-15, 25-10. PANDORA-GILBOA &emsp;&emsp;3 VAN BUREN &emsp;&emsp;0 PANDORA – Pandora-Guilboa swept Van Buren 25-8, 25-9, 25-18 and remained one of just two team still unbeaten in Blanchard Valley Conference matches. The Rockets, 6-9 overall, are 4-0 in the BVC and tied atop the standings with Liberty-Benton. The two teams square off in a league match at Liberty-Benton on Oct. 5. Sasha Busey was solid at the net for Van Buren with 16 kills and five blocks. Kennedy Jones was 25-for-25 serving with an ace and had seven kills and 18 digs. Selma Brant (10 digs) had six kills and Kenna Morey four. Brooke Ingwerson led the Knights (8-4, 2-2 BVC) with 33 assists. Ava Cramer had 15 digs and Faith Smith added seven. JUNIOR VARSITY: Van Buren, 25-19, 25-22. MCCOMB &emsp;&emsp;3 ARLINGTON 1 ARLINGTON – McComb went overtime in the fourth set in earning a back-and-forth 25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 29-27 victory over Arlington in a battle of upper division BVC volleyball teams. McComb improved to 9-3 overall and remained a game back of Liberty-Benton and Pandora-Gilboa in the league standings at 3-1. Arlington fell to 7-6, 2-2 in the league. Brooklynn Downing was 16-for-17 serving and had a big night at the net with 22 kills and eight blocks. Miranda Wells had six blocks, Lydia Dehart had six kills and four blocks, Emma Wells three kills and two blocks and Kacey Like (17-17 serving) four kills. Anna Threet was 12-for-13 serving with five aces and added 18 assists, 10 digs and three kills. Madison Schroeder had 21 digs and Like had 13. Grace Hassan (22-23 serving, 2 aces) had 23 assists and nine digs. Alyssa Lauder had 10 kills and four ace serves for Arlington. Adria Below had 20 digs while Madi Russell (2 aces) had 39 assists. JUNIOR VARSITY: McComb, 25-29, 25-23. RIVERDALE 3 ARCADIA &emsp;&emsp;0 ARCADIA – Riverdale's volleyball team notched its second win of the season on Wednesday, sweeping Arcadia 25-15, 25-20, 25-18 in a Blanchard Valley Conference matchup. Olivia Combs led Riverdale with five kills. Makayla Newfer served up six aces for the Falcons (2-10, 2-2 BVC) and Maddie Risner had a team-leading 13 digs. Arcadia dipped to 2-8 overall, 1-2 in the BVC. VANLUE &emsp;&emsp;3 N. BALTIMORE 0 VANLUE – Vanlue evened its Blanchard Valley Conference volleyball record to 2-2 on Wednesday when the Wildcats topped North Baltimore in three sets, 25-28, 25-22, 28-26. Mara Simon was 24-for-27 spiking with 17 kills and seven digs. Sydney King (17-20 spiking) and Olivia Secord (25-30 spiking) added five kills each. King was also 13-of-15 serving with six aces and Lydia Miller was 18-of-20 with five aces. Gwen Miller was 52-for-53 setting with 13 assists and eight digs. Lydia Miller led the Wildcats (5-7, 2-2 BVC) with 14 digs, Secord had 12 and Simon and King had seven each. JUNIOR VARSITY: Vanlue, 25-21, 25-16.