High school volleyball: Lorain has the touch, sweeps Keystone

LORAIN — Leasya Castro's aces came in bunches. Lorain's senior libero finished with five, including a pair at the end of the first two sets to help the Titans down Keystone 25-12, 25-23, 25-20 in non-conference action Saturday. "We were able to gain momentum off of our serves," said Castro, who also finished with 14 digs. "Getting an ace always is a momentum booster. It just helped us gain off of that." Lorain (11-5) served well overall, combining for 12 aces, while Keystone (4-14) committed 68 unforced errors, including 17 service errors. The Wildcats struggled to get into a rhythm for most of the second set as four straight service opportunities ended with an error on the first attempt. Keystone committed nine service errors total in the second set, a two-point loss. "Normally we don't serve that poorly," Keystone coach Jeff Schaef said. "You can't make that many errors. We hit positive, but with that many errors you don't give yourself that much of a chance. We hit well and when we were in system we took care of the ball. It's when we get a little bit broken, things kind of fall apart for us." But when Keystone did get the ball in play, it got into rhythm. Trailing 18-12, the Wildcats rattled off six straight points to tie as Lorain committed six straight hitting errors. The game remained tied at 19 and 20, but a pair of service errors down the stretch combined with two Castro aces allowed Lorain to clinch the win. "We changed our energy and our perspective in the second set," said Keystone outside hitter Makenzie Miller, who led the team with five kills, including four in the second set. "We can work on a lot. Serving, passing, different things. I think we have a lot of work to do as a total team." Lorain had a balanced attack led by Shaiann Brown with six kills. Jaleah Wright and Jayla King each had four kills with King going back-to-back during a critical juncture in the second set that helped Lorain start a 9-2 run. Lorain led 18-12 in all three sets, closing out the first with seven unanswered points. It looked as if Keystone was going to rally again in the third, closing the gap to 19-16, but Lorain responded with two straight points and kept the Wildcats at arm's length the rest of the way. "We have four conference matches coming up so our goal right now is finishing first in the Lake Erie League," Lorain coach Capreece Irby said. "Just having that mentality and that confidence. We've had a really great season, we've had some rocky moments, but we've really come together and I hope we can finish strong." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.