SMITHVILLE -- Smithville, Orrville and Norwayne proved why they took the top three seeds in the Div. III Smithville District.
All three teams swept their sectional tournament openers Tuesday night at the Wilbur Berkey Field House.
Top-seeded Smithville downed Chippewa in Match 1, while second-seeded Orrville beat Rootstown in Match 2. In the nightcap, third-seeded Norwayne defeated Tuslaw.
Smithville took little time taking care of business on its home court against fellow Wayne County Athletic League member Chippewa.
The Smithies (21-2), ranked 8th in the final Div. III coaches' poll, were paced by strong serving and powerful performances at the net by middle hitters Julie Pollick and Tara Schaffter.
"Our goal tonight was to play our game and stay focused on every point," said Smithville coach Heidi Hartzler, whose team plays Rittman Thursday at 6 p.m. "The girls did what they asked them to do, we didn't have a whole lot of errors on our end which is what we wanted tonight.
"This is tournaments, now it's do or die," Hartzler continued. "If you don't win, you don't play the next day, so it's nice to get that first win."
In Game 1, the Smithies pulled out to an 8-2 lead on seven straight points, including an ace, from senior setter Hannah Jo Rehm, built it further with five straight points from senior libero Jessi Hartzler and finished the Chipps off with nine straight points from sophomore Christine Pumphrey.
Like in Game 1, Chippewa took the first point of Game 2, but Smithville was able to keep Hartzler at the endline for seven points for a 10-2 advantage before Chippewa's Amanda Richmond got the Chipps a sideout. Senior Libbie Earnsberger added another five points for the Smithies in the middle of the game to extend the lead to 16-3. Game point was decided on senior CaSandra Macavoy's outside kill.
In the final game, Smithville took the initial point but Chippewa was able to sideout and put up its biggest lead of the night, 3-1, on three service points from Alex Massaro.
Smithville was able to tie up the game 3-all on Katlyn Allen's ace and built on its lead. Chippewa didn't quit, though, and kept the Smithies to a single-digit lead until Rehm served five straight to set up the game-point middle kill from Pollick.
"We came out of the gate like we weren't going to give up and were all in for the first 10 points," said Chippewa coach Courtney Cannon, "but with Smithville being such a good team, they break you, which is kind of what happened in the middle of that game."
Chippewa was led by Gabby Jones (3 points) and Amanda Richmond (8 assists) and ends the season 5-18.
"I have seen a lot of leadership growth this year," Cannon said. "I have a junior setter in Amanda Richmond who we hope takes over the leadership role next year. She contacts the ball every time it comes over the net, and Michaela McEndree hits the ball hard for us. We will look to her and our other outside hitters to be our strong points next year."
Smithville was led by Hartzler (17 digs, 2 aces), Schaffter (12 kills, 2 blocks), Pollick (7 kills), Rehm (24 assists, 13 points, 3 aces) and Christina Pumphrey (14 points, 2 aces).
Rootstown could not find an answer for middle hitter Hillary Plybon, who racked up match-high 14 kills and got up for two solo blocks in the Red Riders' rout of the Rovers.
"Hillary was very effective on the court tonight," said Orrville coach Sarah Kutschinski, whose team was ranked 19th in the final state coaches poll. "When I asked them to step up and perform better in Games 2 and 3, she really took it upon herself to make her senior experience in sectionals as good as it could have been. She had quite a few kills for three games. She did an excellent job putting the ball away."
With the win Orrville improves to 18-5 and moves on to play Our Lady of the Elms on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Orrville came on strong early, pulling out to a 7-0 lead in Game 1 on seven straight points from senior libero Tara Besancon. Later in the game, senior outside hitter Lauren Mastroine controlled the endline for five points, including two aces, to bring the Riders lead to 14-3. Junior defensive specialist Madison Smith sealed the deal with Orrville with a game-point ace.
In Game 2, Rootstown took the early lead, but a Meg Sullivan ace and back-to-back middle kills from Plybon gave the Riders the 4-1 lead.
Rootstown was able to come back on an Amber Heitzenrater kill to make it 4-3, but Orrville went on a tear in the middle of the game with Mastroine (16 points, 3 aces) at the service line once again.
Danae Stauffer, a junior outside hitter, was able to put Game 2 away with one of her nine kills.
The Rovers were a thorn in the Riders' side for Game 3. Rootstown opened up with 2-0 lead and held on until Stauffer's tip gave the Riders a 4-3 edge.
Orrville stayed in front until Brandi Barkhurst smacked down an outside kill to tie the game at 11-all.
On the next play, Mastroine blasted a kill from the outside to give the Riders the lead for good. Plybon finished the match with a strong outside kill to open court.
Pacing Orrville's backcourt was Besancon (11 digs, 9 points, 1 ace), while sophomore setter Hannah Plybon stuffed the stat sheet with 38 assists, nine points, three aces and five digs.
"In order to accomplish big goals, we have to play big consistently," Kutschinski said. "That's how we have to play Thursday."
The last match of the night turned out to be the most competitive, but third-seeded Norwayne turned on the intensity when it mattered most to come out with a win in its tournament opener.
The Bobcats (16-7) move on to the sectional final where they play Canton Central Catholic Saturday at 3 p.m.
Norwayne jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Tuslaw's Kady Held smacked a kill from the middle. The Bobcats were able to sideout on an Abby Hanzie freeball and a few Mustang miscues gave Norwayne a 7-3 advantage.
Tuslaw was not going to give up, though, and clawed back to tie the game at 11-all on a Norwayne net violation. The Bobcats pushed back out in front and took the game on Korinn Bishop's outside kill.
Game 2 was just as hotly contested, as both teams fought tooth-and-nail in the backcourt. In the end, strong net play by Norwayne middle hitter Alex Williams helped the Bobcats secure the victory.
"We came in with intensity," said Tuslaw coach Susan Pike. "We play a lot better than what our record is. We didn't want to let them intimidate us being the third seed. I was really proud of them for keeping it close, there were just some mental errors and service errors that kept us from getting either one of those first two games."
Norwayne and its go-to senior hitter Abby Hanzie really found their groove in the final game. Hanzie had a match-high 18 kills and blasted seven of those in Game 3.
"Those first two games we came out kind of slow and weren't completely ready to play with the effort I would have liked," said Norwayne coach Trisha Wiles. "The third game, we stepped up and played our game. I'm not sure if it was nerves from the tournament, but the intensity just wasn't there right off the bat. When they relaxed and started having fun, it changed the momentum."
Hanzie also got low for 18 digs, while Keylee Hanzie had 26 and Bishop had 18 digs. Williams ended up with eight kills and a match-high 17 service points.
"Alex did great both in the front row and serving," Wiles said. "She played really well and stepped up and played hard. She was a big force at the net and I was proud of her effort."
Tuslaw, which finished its season 10-13, was led by Brooke Ehmer (11 digs), Nikki Stevens (15 assists) and Held (4 kills, 1 block).