Western Brown’s Christina Frye had 15 assists against Princeton. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Western Brown’s Isabella Ernst recorded nine digs and an ace against Princeton. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Western Brown’s Lacey Patten had eight aces against Princeton. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
Winning postseason games in any division isn’t easy regardless of sport.
In the Southwest District, winning a Division I volleyball tournament game is no small feat.
Four of the top five teams in the final Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll are in the district. Five of the top 20 teams call the Southwest home.
Nonetheless, Western Brown’s girls volleyball team was able to pick up a Division I tournament win on Wednesday, October 19.
The Lady Broncos topped Princeton in four sets (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18) to win a Division I postseason match for just the second time since moving up from Division II for the 2017 season.
“They did really well,” Western Brown head coach Danika Ratcliff said. “They played together the first two sets and brought it back the last set.”
Cassidy Armstrong led the Lady Broncos with 16 kills against Princeton. Christina Frye tallied 15 assists. Lacey Patten tallied 12 assists and eight digs while also making some key serves to help Western Brown take the second set.
“She had eight aces,” Ratcliff said. “She did really well, she’s a good server. We like to do a lot of aggressive serving and the girls do well with that.”
Kyla Conley led the Lady Broncos with 15 digs. Armstrong, Frye and Isabella Ernst had nine digs each. Alyssa Campbell and Olivia Fischer recorded three blocks apiece for the Lady Broncos.
Western Brown’s season would end against state-ranked Kings on Saturday, October 21. The Lady Broncos fell to the No. 13 Lady Knights in three sets and finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 17-7.
