WADSWORTH: Senior Rachel Jones’ black Nike shoes stuck out in a sea of white Aasics Monday night at Wadsworth High School.
The standout players always seem to find a way to stand out a little bit more.
But her choice of abstract footwear certainly wasn’t by her own design.
More like retailer error.
“My shoes are on back order,” Jones said with a laugh. “I still haven’t gotten them from when we ordered them at the beginning of the season; I just had these.”
Jones is just one of the Wadsworth girls who happens to also deliver shattering spikes on opposing teams. That’s all the showboating and marketing she needs.
Poor Green didn’t stand much of a chance once she got rolling Monday night.
A spike here, an ace there and a few blocks, too.
Next thing you know, the three sets were over 28-26, 25-14, 25-11.
Another night over, another victory in Suburban League conference play for the Grizzlies.
It’s all too familiar at this point.
The Grizzlies (15-3, 11-0) have yet to lose in the league and are steam-rolling their way to the tournament with four games left in the regular season.
“I think it will pace us for postseason,” Jones said of the undefeated conference run. “But we need to make sure we handle what we have in our season right now.”
The Grizzlies are ranked in the state, too, No. 18 in the latest Division I Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll. And they are doing it with what amounts to a fairly new team from last year.
“I don’t think it means anything until you prove yourself that you are actually that good,” Jones said. “It shows our hard work.”
Jones, who will play volleyball next season at Palm Beach Atlantic, is one of just three seniors on the team and is an obvious focal point.
“We graduated six seniors last year so we had a whole new lineup this year, but we’ve really stepped up and everyone has worked really hard in practice to get where we are,” Jones said. “It’s awesome being able to trust your teammates and knowing they really work for it. It’s great.”
Jones is not alone.
Throughout Monday’s match, junior Sabrina Parsons and sophomore Peyton Booth delivered some punishing kills of their own.
Jones finished with 14 kills, six blocks and four aces. Parsons and Booth each had nine kills. Booth added three aces.
Junior Haley Beavers set them up with 32 assists.
Junior Rachel Goddard had 12 digs and three aces.
“This team has a lot of potential. If they realize it and are willing to live up to that potential I think we can be a very successful team,” Wadsworth coach Jill Quayle said.
Lexi Teodosio led Green (1-14, 1-11) with six assists, two blocks and 11 service points. Erika Rector had nine kills and Angela Ciocca had seven digs. Sam Borisuk had two aces.
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