[Baltimore Sun] Eastern Tech volleyball sweeps Towson, 3-0, as Shawna Dyer comes up clutch
Read Time:3 Minute, 42 Second
Eastern Tech junior Shawna Dyer had team-highs in kills (12) and aces (5) as the host Mavericks defeated Towson, 25-23, 25-23, 25-15 Monday night.
In the tightly-contested first two sets, Dyer produced clutch kills.
The first set was tied at 20 when the Mavericks scored four straight points, but the Generals rallied to within one on kills from Sarah Batie, Mikaila Wilborne and Leila Mazhari. After an Eastern Tech time out, Dyer put the set away with a kill.
“It’s just the energy, it brings everyone up and it’s not just about me,” Dyer said of her game-winning kill. “That energy kind of like kick starts the whole team.”
In the second set, her back row kill gave the Mavericks a 23-20 lead and two plays later Laila Hartley ended the set with a block.
“[Dyer] has been leading us all year,” Eastern Tech coach David Thorne said. “She is always like the sparkplug when we need a big kill. She gives us that spark and that turns around and shifts the momentum. She has been doing it all year for us.”
Dyer’s best performance came in a victory over Hereford when she had 25 kills.
In Monday’s final set, Dyer had another back row kill with extra steam on it during a run when the Mavericks pulled away after leading 12-10.
“[Back row hits] is something I work on a lot in practice because I do come out when I go into the back row, but when I get to get a chance to serve in the back row a lot of people don’t think I can attack from that position. But when I do they are not ready for it.”
She finished with five kills in the final set.
Photo by Craig Clary/Staff
Towson’s Lila Eastham powers a ball over the net in the Generals loss to Eastern Tech. (Craig Clary/Staff)
The key to the attack for the Mavericks was a stingy defense led by junior libero Keira Siemers.
“Their defense was really scrappy and we just had to keep our mentality up and keep pushing,” Towson coach Morgan Pulley said. “We knew it was going to be a tough opponents today.”
Related Articles
Across the fields in Baltimore County: A look at the top high school sports teams, players and more (Sept. 25)
No. 13 Perry Hall football’s big plays the difference in 32-27 win over No. 15 Dundalk
Western Tech football knocks off previously unbeaten Lansdowne, 42-0
Towson girls soccer senior Koto Davis celebrates birthday with 4-0 victory over Dulaney
First-year coach Thorne appreciated the energy and consistency of his libero.
“You can’t do anything without defense and we kind of go as far as our libero Keira takes us,” Thorne said. “I’m a defensive-minded coach and when you have good defense it kind of sets you up for success on other things.”
That defense gave setter Tessa Long a chance to utlilize multiple weapons and she did superbly. Hartley had five kills and Aniyah Heath added three.
“it’s all about being loud and having control of the court,” said Siemers, who added three aces in the second set. “If people know you are there and trust you to be there they can trust you with everything and that’s how to get the points and keep the team fired up.”
Towson was led by Batie (six kills), Penney Hardesty (five kills) and Lila Eastham (three killls), but the Generals lost several points with errors.
“The energy was a little bit new tonight,” said Puller, who’s squad dropped to 4-2. “We were playing a little bit chaotic on our side and not keeping our errors minimal. I think it was a fight against ourselves for a lot of those points.
Next up for the Generals is unbeaten Dulaney at home Friday night. Eastern Tech improved to 5-1 with its only loss coming against Dulaney.
“It’s just a really good group, a really strong team and they make it easy for me,” Thorne said. “I’m very, very excited. We’ve got a long road ahead, but wins like this kind of set us up for success for the rest of the season.”
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0