Surging Braves continue to impress early in year

DANE FUELLING

WZBD.com

“It was a very good match for us. Concordia is a good team and they play with lots of energy and excitement.”

*MK Scheumann had 11 digs and seven digs as the Braves swept Concordia Tuesday night in Fort Wayne. (Photo by Grace Scheumann)*

In terms of results, it would be hard for Bellmont head coach Craig Krull to admit that he could ask for much more than what his girls have given him in the opening two weeks of the season after the Braves swept Concordia 25-17, 25-19, 25-9 Tuesday. With wins over the three traditional parochial high schools in Fort Wayne and a pair of wins at Yorktown Saturday, the team is off to a flying 5-0 start.

*Coach Craig Krull’s team is off to a great start at 5-0, but they have big challenges coming in the next week. (Photo by Grace Scheumann)*

“We were able to control our emotions and withstand the push from the Cadets,” he added.

*Hailey Cole finished Tuesday night’s straight-set win over Concordia with 30 assists, three kills and eight digs. (Photo by Grace Scheumann)*

The heat and lack of air conditioning at the Concordia gym added an extra element to what has always been a good rivalry. The two teams are set to play again Saturday at Yorktown in round three.

“Concordia served very tough and we tried too hard to make things perfect so we made unforced errors, but our defense stepped up and we were able to handle the big hitters from Concordia and those good defensive plays turned into quick-hitting offense.”

*The heat in the Concordia sunken gym was no match for the right arm of Delaney Lawson. (Photo by Grace Scheumann)*

Delaney Lawson led the charge with 15 kills. The Utah State commit collected her 1000th career kill last week and it won’t take long for her to reach 1,100.

MaryKate Scheumann had 11 kills and seven digs, while Jackie Sutter (7) and Alyssa Gumbel (8) also contributed to the Braves’ overall kill count.

The match was rather close in the opening sets, with the two teams knotted at 19 points apiece late in the second set before the Braves pulled away.

*Jackie Sutter dug out seven digs and scored two aces as the Braves won at Concordia. (Photo by Grace Scheumann)*

The third set belonged to the Braves, who jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Already down two sets in the heat, there was little fight left in the Cadets. Bellmont made a similar run on Luers last week with the same end result.

The Braves’ next two events will be broadcast live on WZBD, with Thursday’s match against South Adams set to be the site of a big showdown between two undefeated teams. The crowd should be even larger with students in other sports in attendance with all outdoor activities off due to the extreme heat.

*Senior Delaney Lawson led Bellmont in kills with 15 Tuesday night at Concordia. (Photo by Grace Scheumann)*

Bellmont will play Westfield, Crown Point and Concordia in the opening rounds at Yorktown Saturday, with the Z-Team picking up coverage toward the end of the rematch with the Cadets. WZBD will bring listeners the fourth and final match against Roncalli in its entirety.