Dalton volleyball picks up 2 wins; Central loses to Loudonville

PHOTO BY LISA McGINTY | LMc Photography

Dalton’s Laura Schloneger at a game earlier this season.

By ARIEL STAHLER
DGKN sports writer

Dalton High School’s varsity volleyball team started off the second week of the season with a win over Northwestern. They fell to Smithville before ending the week with a home win over St. Vincent-St. Mary to make their overall record 3-2 and their WCAL record 1-1.
The Lady Dawgs defeated Northwestern 25-20, 25-15, 25-27, 25-18 on the road Aug. 30. Laura Schloneger was on fire for Dalton with 15 points and seven aces. Maddy Coblentz also had a good game with 17 points, one ace and 25 digs. Sarah Cross made her presence known with 17 points, three aces, 33 assists and 17 digs. Vivi Cisar finished with 12 kills while Maclain Stutz had 10 kills. Kendall Maibach recorded 23 digs in the win.

Dalton traveled to Smithville Sept. 1 where the Smithies won 25-19, 25-14, 25-22. Maibach totaled seven points, one ace and 12 digs. Coblentz and Sydney Geiser both had four points and two aces apiece. Coblentz also led the Lady Dawgs with 17 digs. Stutz finished with five kills. Cross had 13 assists and 12 digs.
The Lady Dawgs hosted St. Vincent-St. Mary Sept. 3 and Dalton won 25-12, 25-22, 24-16, 25-23. Cross finished with 16 points, one ace and 19 assists. Coblentz collected 14 points, three aces and 16 digs. Cisar had eight kills, three solo blocks and two assist blocks. Stutz recorded six kills while Maibach had five kills. Schloneger led Dalton with 17 digs.

Dalton’s head coach Allison Hostetler noted the difference in her team’s play against the league opponents this week.

“We started our league play with very tough opponents in Northwestern and Smithville,” said Hostetler. “I thought the girls came out ready to play against Northwestern and had a high energy level. They did a great job controlling the game and doing the things we worked on in practice. It was great to start the week with a big win and see the girls’ hard work pay off. When we played Smithville, we didn’t do the small things and didn’t fight the same way we did against Northwestern. Although we have some inexperienced varsity players, we need the girls to have confidence in themselves, especially because we (the coaches) have confidence in them, which is why they have earned being on the court. We are looking forward to seeing their confidence grow and watching our seniors nurture that attitude in a positive way.”

Central Christian School

Central Christian suffered a tough 25-11, 25-9, 25-6 road loss to Loudonville Aug. 30.

The Comets have an 0-4 overall record. Athena Bowers had three points, two aces and 13 digs for the Comets. Mattie Mast finished with four kills. Clair Yost recorded four assists.

Central’s head coach Nate Holton described the powerhouse schools his team has faced at the start of this season and the challenges the Comets encountered.

“The first two weeks of our season are loaded with really strong programs/teams,” said Holton. “Loudonville is one of those really strong teams. We could not find much space on their end of the court to score because of their great defense and they just made it challenging for us at the net all evening. They’re a really solid squad.”

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