Girls district volleyball: Firelands falls to Beaumont

AKRON – Firelands' season came to an end Wednesday night with a four-set district final loss to Beaumont, 19-25, 21-25, 25-14, 19-25.Just like in its district semifinal win over Lutheran West on Monday, Firelands got off to a slow start, falling behind early in the first set. It got better as the set went on, but the Falcons were unable to close the gap as Beaumont took a 1-0 lead.Things continued to go downhill for the Falcons in the second set, where they once again fell behind early and were unable to recover, though a spirited comeback attempt made the second set the closest of the night."You can't get experience unless you've been here before," said Firelands coach Mason Cooley. "So sometimes you get to big moments like these, and those nerves kick in, and you're just a little bit tighter than you would normally be."With the Falcons' season on the line going into the third set, Cooley's message was simple, and his team responded."I just told them I've seen what they can do in practice," he said. "Our movement was slow and delayed to start, and they move a lot quicker in our gym at practice, so they just needed to loosen up and go have fun."The Falcons did just that in the third set, winning nine of the first 10 points on the way to a dominant 25-14 victory that got them back in the match.The momentum was short-lived, however, as the two teams played the most even volleyball of the night to start the fourth set, leading to a 12-12 tie halfway through the frame.The Blue Streaks took over from there, winning five of the next six points, and though the Falcons recovered their form a bit, the damage was done and the Blue Streaks finished off the match on the 18th kill of the night from junior Carly Brown.While Brown led the match in kills with her 18, the standout performer for Firelands was once again Josie Kirby, who led the team in both kills, with 14, and assists, with 17.Kirby has been one of the Falcons' most important players this season, and her performance Wednesday made it clear why."She's one of our leaders," Cooley said. "She steps up in big moments like these, and she takes charge. A lot of the other girls look up to her, and she does a nice job of putting a lot of work in and keeping the other girls up."Despite the disappointing end, the season was undeniably a success for Firelands, which won 19 matches for the second year in a row despite playing a much tougher schedule this year, and captured its second straight Lorain County League title and fourth in the last five years."Even in those 19 wins, we've gone out and gone after tougher competition for our non-conference," Cooley said. "So it doesn't really stack up to the Firelands teams of the past, so I think it's a great accomplishment. The girls have put the work in and come through a lot just to get here."With Kirby coming back for one more season and underclassmen like Everleigh Robinson, who ranked second on the team with nine kills Wednesday, and Claire Hasley, who ranked fourth with six, the future is still bright for the Falcons, and the experience of Wednesday's loss will go a long way towards fueling another successful season next year.Beaumont 3, Firelands 1Beaumont 25 25 14 25Firelands 19 21 25 19KILLS: B: Gillian Payne 4, Cole Barney 1, Maryclare Holzheimer 8, Calli Clifford 10, Carly Brown 18, Ella Holzheimer 2; F: Layla McGuire 1, Claire Hasley 6, Regan Viock 2, Josie Kirby 14, Madison Howard 2, Everleigh Robinson 9, Micah Lee 8.DIGS: B: Barney 1, Maryclare Holzheimer 1, Theresa Angert 2; F: Lexi Schrader 2, McGuire 3, Cara Thomas 4, Alydia Sonner 2, Kirby 1, Peyton Gibson 1.ASSISTS: B: Kate Bruner 1, Barney 16, Ali Calabrese 22, Angert 1; F: Schrader 16, Stella Frederick 2, McGuire 1, Kirby 17.ACES: B: Bruner 3, Payne 1, Barney 2, Brown 1, Angert 1; F: Schrader 1, McGuire 3, Kirby 1, Robinson 2, Gibson 1.BLOCK-KILLS: B: Payne 2, Maryclare Holzheimer 1, Clifford 1; F: Hasley 1, Howard 1, Lee 1.