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Penns Valley volleyball continues rolling, sweeps Southern Huntingdon for sixth straight win

By KENNY VARNER 4 min read

SPRING MILLS – The Penns Valley volleyball team continues to win at a blistering pace.

Monday was no exception. Offensively, the Rams showed that they could win three different ways in their 3-0 win over Southern Huntingdon, defeating the Rockets by set scores of 25-18, 25-8 and 25-17.

"They are playing so clean. Playoffs are upon us, so we got to start really playing clean volleyball, not make a lot of mistakes on our side, and the girls just surprise me," said Penns Valley coach Tyler Fleshman. "They keep surprising me. It keeps getting better every day, and I’m so proud of them."

Starting from the very first game, Penns Valley found themselves in a back-and-forth battle with a feisty Rockets squad in what would be a side-out fest with 28. Leading the Rams in the contest was Jordan Johnson, as she picked up four service points. All of her points came in crunch time with the set tied at 13.

After a Penns Valley side out putting the Rams ahead, Johnson stepped to the line and hit an ace to start the run. On her second serve, the Rockets weren't able to return it. She then added her second ace in the run, upping the Penns Valley lead to 17-13.

The ace would cause Southern Huntingdon to call a time out. Coming out of the break, Johnson added another point before the Rockets could get back the possession.

The two team would exchange the side outs on the next five points, giving the home team a 22-17 advantage.

One of the Rams’ front row forces in the contest in Caroline Wert got it done at the service line as well posting two late points, putting her team just one point away. It seemed fitting that it would be a side out that would give Penns Valley the 25-18 win.

"All around our hitters, not just two hitters but all four or five of my hitters and all my setters are just consistently feeding the ball and fighting to keep everything off the floor," said Fleshman. "So it’s just, it’s a whole team effort, and they’re all doing amazing."

Set two showed that the Rams could also dominate a contest from beginning to end.

Penns Valley's Paige Johnson got her team off to the strong start as she rolled off four consecutive points. In the run, Wert picked up her team's first point with a block at the net. Paige Johnson followed with an ace while Jordan Johnson finished off the initial burst with two consecutive blasts.

After a side out, Penns Valley gave the ball to Wert. She continued the Rams dominance, as she added three more points from the line to put the team ahead by a score 8-1.

Things continued to roll as the Rockets would make it an 8-2 contest before Sydnie Dalton reeled off four more points to up their lead to 12-3. Penns Valley never looked back from there as they cruised to a 25-8 victory.

In the third set, the Rams found themselves trailing 17-11, as Fleshman called a time out to get her team refocused and ready to get back into the contest. And come back they did.

Wert and company ran off the next 13 service points to put the game, set and match on ice. In the run, Wert posted two aces. Also, Jordan Johnson, Katie Auman and Wert and the entire front managed to hit it to where the Rockets weren't, closing a span that saw Penns Valley turn a six-point deficit into a 25-17 lead.

Penns Valley's is back in action Tuesday against Tyrone.

Starting at /week.