By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Bedford North Lawrence suffered a broken nail but hardly broke a sweat during a sweep of Charlestown.
While Trinidy Bailey sacrificed her left thumbnail for the cause, the Stars suffered no other causalities while recording a drama-less 25-18, 25-14, 25-11 victory over the Pirates (11-16) on Thursday night. Sammie Gratzer did a lot of damage on the front line and the back as the Stars (13-12) dominated all the statistical categories.
Gratzer led a vicious serving attack with 7 aces, and she overpower the Pirates at the net with 9 kills and 5 blocks.
“We played aggressively,” BNL coach Aaron Wagoner said. “I think we play aggressive when they know they can. They know it’s ripe, they can really kill the ball. When they start getting blocked, they start pulling back and doing a lot of tipping.”
Fast starts were the key during the final two sets. BNL blasted to an 8-0 advantage in the second, then pounded its way to a 5-0 lead in the third.
“That was serving,” Wagoner said. “Sammie has been killing the ball on the service line, Lily Mishler did a good job. Trinidy is the most accurate server we have. That got us the hot start, where we got them out of system or they couldn’t handle it.”
In addition to the Gratzer aces, Mishler totaled 3 plus 6 kills. Izzy Root added 6 kills. On the back row, Trinidy Bailey (who suffered the thumb injury in the second set) and Adalynn Bailey had 7 digs each while Sara Williams recorded 5. BNL finished with 7 blocks.
“They were getting it tight to the net, and it’s easier to block,” Gratzer said. “And they overpassed a lot. On my serve, I just look at the zone my coach gives me, try my best to hit it.”
BNL will seek to build momentum when it travels to Jeffersonville on Saturday.
”We’re trying to figure things out,” Gratzer said, “communicate better and have good energy on the court.”
The Stars will learn their postseason fate when the IHSAA announces the sectional pairings on Sunday.
