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Eagles stay perfect

Leadership, communication earn Hubbard 14-0 start, sweep of Fitch

Tribune Chronicle / Marc Weems Hubbard players, including Cailey Tingler (19), Adria Powell (6) and Nya Thornton, celebrate a victory over Austintown Fitch on Thursday in Hubbard. The Eagles beat the Falcons in straight sets.

HUBBARD — So far this season, no has been able to overcome the Hubbard Eagles volleyball team, and that didn’t change Thursday.

The Eagles (14-0, 9-0) defeated the Austintown-Fitch Falcons (4-9) in straight sets 25-14, 25-17 and 25-19.

“I’m very proud of this group so far this season,” Hubbard coach Jeremy Porter said. “We have really good leadership with our seniors. They take every second serious and who we are playing. We are 14-0 and in the driver’s seat. We want to finish the year off with a couple of championships.”

Leading the charge for the Eagles is senior middle hitter Nya Thornton. She transferred from Howland a year ago and has made an immediate impact. She led the Eagles with 14 points.

“We lost a really good player, but we’ve bonded well as a team,” Thornton said. “We pick each other up when we fall. If someone is having a bad game, we just pick each other up.”

Tribune Chronicle / Marc Weems Hubbard's Adria Powell goes up for a spike on Thursday during a game against Austintown Fitch. The Eagles won in three sets.

During the 14-0 start, senior libero Ruthie Sandberg has been setting the tone from the back line. She led Hubbard with 11 digs.

“Our focus has just been for that district championship,” Sandberg said. “We’ve been working toward this since we were freshmen. Now, it is all coming together.”

This year’s Hubbard team features four seniors. Sandberg, Thornton, Sylvia Genoni and Kristin Fahndrich.

“This team is one that I knew would be special for a very long time. Since they were seventh graders, we could just see it in a couple of them,” Porter said. “We could see what great players they were and leaders they were. This team has unbelievable work ethic. I’ve been looking forward to this year for five or six years now.”

Porter also said appreciates the communication and leadership during the games and in the classroom. The ability to relay information during the game is a vital component in volleyball.

“Being a senior, I’ve kind of come out and been a leader,” Genoni said. “Being the captain, I try to pick everybody up when we are down. This season, we have been up a lot. It has been a really good season. We have three seniors who know to talk and help each other out.”

Genoni also said the focus was never lost. Even when Thornton transferred, she knew what being in Hubbard meant to the other seniors. The team let her know and made her feel at home.

“We always knew we wanted to do this,” Genoni said. “Our goal is now in sight.”

Hubbard now has a tough road ahead as it plays five of the last matches on the road including a match at Canfield High School on Oct. 5.

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