The Marlington Lady Dukes (11-2, 7-0) volleyball team continues their dominance on the court this season, moving to 7-0 in the Eastern Buckeye Conference with a three-set sweep of the Carrollton Lady Warriors (3-12, 2-4).
Marlington opened the match with a dominating first set, leading by as much as 20-1 at one point. They ended up winning the opening set 25-4.
Carrollton regrouped and came out swinging in the second set, the most competitive set of the night.
The Lady Warriors held a 15-9 lead at one point, but that six-point lead was short lived as Marlington rallied back to tie the second set at 16.
Carrollton regained the lead and found themselves ahead 21-19, forcing the Lady Dukes to call a timeout.
Marlington freshman Layne Graffice ended a volley with a tip over the net, scoring a point for her team. Marlington tied the set at 21.
Mallory Bennett and Jillian Fellers recorded back-to-back kills over the net for Marlington, putting the Lady Dukes ahead 23-21. Carrollton’s Alli Stackhouse and senior Grace Leslie returned the favor with kills of their own to tie the game at 23.
Another Leslie kill put Carrollton in position to win, but the Lady Dukes didn’t roll over – despite trailing 24-23.
Fellers recorded a point for the Lady Dukes to tie the set at 24 and it was all Marlington from there. They won the second set 26-24 and led the match 2-0.
Marlington dominated the third and final set of the night 25-7 to complete a 3-0 sweep of Carrollton.
Graffice led the serving for Marlington with 26 service points. Marlington sophomore Chelsea Evanich recorded 11 digs and Janelle Swisher finished with 22 assists.
Top hitters for Marlington were Fellers and Evanich with 12 and 10, respectively.
Carrollton’s top server was Jadyn Pidgeon with six points, including three aces. Erin King recorded five kills for the Lady Warriors.
Brylie Wade finished with 11 assists for Carrollton. King and Brandi Hafner each recorded one solo block.