Westfield senior Georgia Bresnahan scored 17 kills across the final three sets to carry the Shamrocks to a 22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-12 win over Franklin Central in Thursday’s Hoosier Crossroads Conference volleyball opener.
Both squads traded points early in the opening set until Franklin Central surged to take the lead on an ace from libero Cicily Borders. The Flashes were stingy at the net, scoring on a pair of blocks from senior Breanna Storz and junior Briley Layton. The pendulum swung back-and-forth during the opening set, but the Flashes struck first as freshman Delaney Cooper finished the opening set with an emphatic fifth kill.
After the Shamrocks dropped the opening set, they stormed back to outscore the Flashes by 25 points the rest of the match to take the second, third and fourth set. Westfield retaliated with a 4-0 opening run on consecutive tips by Bresnahan, who never led up in the second set and delivered six kills to seize control. The Shamrocks leaned on their front-line depth at the net, with juniors Carsyn Comer and Paige Rudolph rising up to block the volleyball away from their territory six times. Westfield senior Audrey Basset added four clutch kills to secure the second set win.
Westfield head coach Sean Keeve knows his team has a target on its back after a hot 5-0 start, but he wants more creative energy from his starting unit in the opening set.
“They responded well, we have been coming out a little bit flat lately, giving up points here and there,” Coach Keeve said. “We have got to be better on our side at taking care of the ball in stressful situations and that’s something we have been talking about.”
The third set proved to be the most pivotal shift of momentum in the match. Cooper got Franklin Central started with a kill, but the Shamrocks answered with a pair of kills by Comer and Bresnahan. The Flashes battled hard to force seven ties in the third frame, but Westfield instantly regained its rhythm. Paige Rudolph added 10 kills to fuel the Shamrocks rally, including a winner to seal the decisive third set.
The Shamrocks shut the door early in the fourth frame as Rudolph kept attacking with a kill, followed by a block. Westfield raced to a commanding 8-2 opening run before a timeout was called from the Flashes. Comer later blocked three attacks at the net to deny the late rally and stretch the lead for the Shamrocks. Westfield kept feeding Bresnahan to attack with another five kills to coast to a 25-12 win and clinch HCC opener.
“We were more relaxed,” Keeve said of the dominant fourth set. “We’ve got to take that mentality in the first set of every single match that we play. Can’t be stressed out. Teams know how good we are.”
Keeve challenged his squad to make the 97-minute match on gameday more enjoyable after stacking up “competitive” practice sessions in a “fun environment” throughout the week.
“We love showing up to practice, the culture is great,” Keeve said. “That’s got to translate from practice during the week into these matchups.”
Westfield faces four tough matchups coming up on Saturday at the Yorktown Invite, which should reveal more about how the Shamrocks (5-0) fare in a tournament format.