Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Jackson stands tall in four-set triumph over gritty rival

 Jackson stands tall in four-set triumph over gritty rival

By Keno Sultan

www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com

NORTH CANTON--Whenever the Jackson Polar Bears and North Canton Hoover Vikings compete in any sport, the competitive zeal is much intensified.

Tuesday night in front of an excited crowd at Hoover High School, their Federal League contest lived up to it's billing.

In a contest that featured a horde of scoring runs by both squads, it was in the fourth set that the visitors displayed their repertoire that has allowed them to be the elder patriarch of league volleyball as they rallied from an 11-4 deficit and captured the set to post a 25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 26-24 victory as their record ascended to 9-0 on the season, 4-0 in Federal League competition.

After the first set that was won by Jackson, it seemed that a straight set triumph was the recipe for the Polar Bears as they powered their way to a 17-9 lead only to have it erased by eight consecutive points by the Vikings as North Canton outscored Jackson 16-3 out of a timeout to even their match at one set apiece. From there on, it was all Jackson the rest of the way.

North Canton Hoover's volleyball team breaks their huddle after a timeout during their Federal Leageu contest Tuesday night at Hoover High School. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press). 

Fourth-year Jackson head coach Mary Kate Agona admired the toughness that was shown by their archrival and their first-year boss Tiffany O'Dell. North Canton did not wilt away and it was lucid by their spunk that they were determined to impale the defending league champions. But Agona's charges found a way to persevere through and register a hard-fought victory.

"There was some big momentum shifts throughout the game and many lead changes. Both teams had big leads and let them go and we kept telling our girls just to play with confidence," Agona said. "Hoover came out and executed well. You could see when the team got tight, they would start to lose a couple points, so we was trying to tell our girls to continue playing with confidence, keep playing aggressively and sometimes we did and that's when we went on our runs."

The third set was the Polar Bears best set as they found their range through their strong frontline through the strong play of Leigh James, Taylor Brownsword, and Abbey Debevec. Those three were instrumental throughout the contest with their length and height at the net. Jackson raced out to a 12-5 lead and that proved to be huge.

North Canton Hoover is better that what their 3-6 record indicates (1-2 Federal League). If there is any consolation, there is a second meeting later on in the season at Jackson. The Vikings can draw on the fact that their rival didn't speed away with a rousing margin of victory.

But the fourth set and losing a seven-point lead with a chance to fource a fifth set tiebreaker will gnaw at them at least till the second confrontation.

"I think that was big for us (overcoming that 11-4 deficit). I think mentally we still have a lot of growth to do in that area an executing physically. We are pretty athletic but mentally there are some areas that we can improve at and I think we took a big step forward today," Agona said. "We gave ourselves a chance to win at the end and we continued to play and execute."

Jackson's hitting ability and their stout frontline will be huge for them as league play progresses. Agona hopes to see her legion of Polar Bears continue their stronghold at the net through their deep frontline and better shot selection in terms of kills.

"We have some really athletic kids and we need to utilize them better and be a little more smarter with their shot selection as well," she said. "But we have some really dynamic hitters and our defense is solid and we have fantastic setters."

Jackson head volleyball coach Mary Kate Agona chats with her coaching staff during the fourth set of Tuesday's volleyball match, won by the Polar Bears in four sets. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

Whenever the Jackson Polar Bears and North Canton Hoover Vikings meet in competition, the zeal is highly intensified. Jackson had just enough to shine in the spotlight against their archrival who brought out the best in them.

Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.



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