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Liberty stays on track with win over Flashes

LIBERTY — A year ago, the Liberty Leopards finished 9-12 and fell in the opening round of the Division III tournament to Hartville Lake Center Christian.

In 2020, they are almost halfway to last year’s win total after a sweep of the Champion Golden Flashes on Tuesday, 25-8, 25-16 and 25-22.

Allyson Jones sparked the Leopards (4-0) with nine kills, three digs and three aces as Liberty set the tone early by jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the opening set.

“Allyson is our main go-to player,” Liberty coach Marcus Hayden said. “She plays outside. She plays club ball all year round. She’s a three-sport athlete.”

Her presence was felt on the front line as the Leopards held a sizable advantage up front to take the opening set, 25-8.

Still, the Flashes, 6-17 a year ago, rebounded in the second set and held the momentum with an 11-8 advantage before Hayden called a timeout to get Liberty refocused.

“I think our energy needed to pick up more,” he said. “We were excited because it was our first home game. I believe they have the talent and skill to do what we want to do to be successful.”

The message came across in that timeout as the Leopards responded with an 11-1 run to take the second set 25-16.

“We need to focus,” Hayden said. “Our focus has kind of been up and down. They didn’t have the best of coaching in the past, so they are used to playing flat. We need to keep picking our energy up and keep doing what we need to do.”

Attaya Rhodes earned five kills and three digs from the center position. Krysten Fine added seven digs and two kills.

For Champion (0-1), it was their first game of the season and that seemed evident in the first set, but the progress from that opening set to the final set was not lost on their coach, Megan Wagner.

“I feel like that second match was sort of our transformation into the team I know these girls can be,” she said. “By the third set, we were neck and neck with them most of the time. Going from the first set to the last set, we improved tremendously.”

In the third set, both teams exchanged points on a regular basis, with Champion overcoming an early 8-3 deficit to get it all tied up at 12.

Liberty responded down the stretch, up 15-14, to build a 22-17 advantage.

Still, Champion responded to get it within 24-22 before Liberty was finally able to claim match point after holding a 24-19 lead.

Kaylee Gania led Champion with 10 digs.

“She’s an all-star,” Wagner said. “She’s all over the place, whether it’s her position or anywhere on the court.”

Avery Clay added four kills. Olivia Zigarovich finished with two aces as the third set showed the drastic difference in play for the Golden Flashes.

“That third set, I told them, that’s our team,” Wagner said. “We now have all of our jitters out. The third set is what we are going to be for the rest of the season.”

Hayden likes what he sees with his team as he feels they have a pretty solid group all the way around.

“We just need to keep going and not let up,” he said. “At practice we need to work harder at getting better everyday. I make practice harder than our games will be. I think we’ll take advantage of that.”

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