Girls volleyball: Firelands clinches outright LCL title with win over Keystone

HENRIETTA TWP. — Firelands celebrated more than its seniors Tuesday night.The Falcons clinched the Lorain County League championship outright with a 25-10, 25-17, 25-9 win against Keystone on senior night.Firelands (16-5, 12-1) has won 11 straight since losing to Black River on Sept. 9, clinching its second straight LCL title and fourth in the last five years. This is its third outright title during that span, as the Falcons split with Brookside in 2021."It means a lot working all these four years and then to come and win conference on my senior night is really special to me," said Firelands senior Micah Lee, who finished with six kills. "And to do it with all my friends makes it even more special. We've really put in the work to make sure our offense looks good and get ready for the tournament this year."The Falcons rode strong serving throughout the match, particularly from sophomore Everleigh Robinson, who had six aces to go with seven kills. Firelands jumped out to a 20-6 lead with the team combining for five aces during that span, including three from Robinson.Firelands recorded 14 aces for the match and 10 in the first two sets."We've been working really hard all year so it's just really great," Robinson said. "It's not a relief because we still have more to do, but it's a really nice feeling to win the conference. I kept the ball in play and just dialed in on my spots during my serve. Just keep the ball controlled the whole time."Keystone (4-17, 3-10) adjusted in the second and kept pace with the Falcons through the first 22 points. Firelands started off on a 6-1 run, but the Wildcats cut the deficit to 12-10 with two kills from Makenzie Miller and another from Bella Duelley during the run.Firelands, however, responded with nine unanswered points. Robinson recorded two more aces during the run."They competed," Keystone coach Jeff Schaef said. "We're a young team and they kept fighting. We moved some things around to try and give Firelands some different looks. They did the best they could with their adjustments and they competed."Sophomore Josie Kirby took over the third set for Firelands, recording four kills during a 9-2 run to open the set. She later recorded three straight aces to give her four for the match and finished with a team-high 10 kills.After losing the next two points, the Falcons won 16 of the next 21 to close out the match. Robinson and Lee each had two kills during that stretch."They've put a lot of work in for the last couple of years," Firelands coach Mason Cooley said. "A lot of these girls go out and play club. A lot of them are getting private lessons on the side, also. There's a lot of hard work that they've put into this and it really shows."Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.