Girls volleyball: Firelands beats Vermilion in Stillman Cup rivalry match

HENRIETTA TWP. — Firelands brushed off the first set then brought home the Stillman Cup. Vermilion came out swinging in the first, but the Falcons settled in and took care of business 27-29, 25-20, 25-13, 25-14 in non-conference action at Firelands on Saturday afternoon. "We just kept the energy up and kept working together," said freshman Madison Howard, who led the Falcons with 11 kills. "I definitely think our energy increased. The more kills we got and points we got, the energy went higher. It felt really good to win the Stillman Cup, especially since this is my first game against Vermilion." The first set featured a number of swings, but Vermilion (3-9) ultimately gave itself five chances to close it out up 24-19. Firelands, however, rattled off five straight points — three hitting errors by the Sailors and back-to-back kills from Micah Lee to tie things up. Firelands (7-5) got a set point at 27-26, but the Sailors got a block then won the next two, closing the set on their eighth set point. "I think we came out with a lot of energy," Vermilion coach Sawyer Schafer said. "They played together for the entire set. Even when there were moments where they struggled, they still played together and pushed through. I'm very proud of them for that, that's a huge win for us. Our biggest takeaway is we have to be willing to push as a team through every single set. Even if we win the first set, we have to continue to push to win the entire match." Deadlocked at 7-7, the second set looked to be just as tight as the first, but Firelands broke away with six straight points, including three kills and an ace. The Falcons went the whole first set without an ace, but that changed quickly as they piled up 14 during the next three, including two in the second set. Senior Lexi Schrader had five aces, including a run of four straight in the third set that grew the Falcons' lead from 12-11 to 16-11. Firelands ultimately won 13 of the final 15 points in the third set. "This was a very good team win for us today because we didn't let anyone get down on each other even after losing the first set," Schrader said. "That was a good thing that we did, to stay positive. Today we kept our serves in more. Sometimes we have difficulty keeping them in, but today we kept them in and were more aggressive with them." Firelands' back line, anchored by defensive specialist Stella Frederick, also played well, keeping a number of rallies alive. The Falcons jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the third set and while the Sailors cut the deficit to 12-9, that was as close as they got as Firelands responded with five unanswered points to put the match away. "I think we have a great defense," Firelands coach Mason Cooley said. "Our back row is very solid. It all starts with Stella in that middle back position. She is so quick and very good at reading that ball. She doesn't say much, but she moves. She's one of those leaders who leads by example." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.