BY GREG GULAS
      Boardman News Sports
      bnews@zoominternet.net
      The Canfield Cardinals and Boardman Spartan girls’ volleyball teams are arguably the cream of the crop in the All-American Conference this season, each sporting perfect 4-0 league marks heading into their showdown last Thursday at the Spartan Gymnasium.
      Canfield, 14-1 overall, 4-0 in the AAC and riding a five-game win streak and Boardman, 9-3 through 12 games and also 4-0, were on a collision course with both eyeing sole possession of the top spot in the league standings.
      Round one – the rematch between the two schools will take place on October 13 at the Cardinals’ Gym – of the nip and tuck battle went to the Spartans.
      Becca Martinez’s Spartans topped the Cardinals 3-0, winning the first set 25-20, capturing the second set by a 25-23 count then making it a clean sweep with a 25-17 decision in the third set.
      It was the first time this season that the Cardinals were shutout – their only loss was a 3-1 setback at hands of the North Ridgeville Rangers back on September 12 – and the first time they failed to win a set since losing to Notre Dame Cathedral Latin (October 23) in the last game of the season a year ago.
      The loss snapped a five-game win streak for Canfield while the win extended Boardman’s win skein to 10 games – the Spartans have won 30 of 34 sets during that stretch – as they posted their third consecutive and eighth shutout overall this year.
      Maya Flores led the way with 19 kills, two blocks and 8 digs, Lili Ison added 13 kills and three digs, Gabriella Ball contributed two blocks while Addie Volosin registered two kills and three digs.
      “It was an incredible total team effort from start to finish,” Martinez said after the game. “The offense was running on all cylinders thanks to setters Gianna Commons and Emma Terlesky. The defense was just as impressive as Riley Seydlorsky anchored the back row with 14 digs. Xy’Asia Gilford recorded three digs with Natalie Ludban adding two more digs.”
      Commons finished with 18 assists, five digs and four aces while Terlesky added 15 assists to keep the offense rolling.
      “We play together, play as a team and when we get the lead we run and carry out what we need to do,” Ison said. ”We watched a lot of film on them and were able to adjust during all three sets. We have great coaches on our sideline telling us what we needed to do then we carried it out. Moving forward, it doesn’t get any easier so we must keep working hard and just work together as a team.”
      Trailing 11-9 in the opening set, four service points by Commons staked the Spartans to a 14-11 lead, the teams eventually battling to an 18-all deadlock.
      Flores’ three points gave BHS a 22-18 lead with Commons securing the first set (25-20) victory with the final point and a 1-0 lead in the match.
      The Cardinals built a 10-3 lead at the outset of the second set, only to have Flores’ five service points cut the deficit to 10-9.
      Canfield built a 23-22 advantage and with the score knotted at 23-all, Ludban’s final two serves were right on the mark as the Spartans secured the two-point (25-23) victory in the set and a 2-0 lead heading to the third set.
      Four service points each from Commons and Ludban, and two more from Addie Volosin staked Boardman to a 15-4 lead in the third set, Commons adding three more points while Volsosin secured the 25-17 win with the final point of the set and a 3-0 sweep of their Route 224 rivals.
      “It was a huge win and a huge statement game for us,” Martinez added. “We really focused on defense and serve receive. We know they are a tough serving team, a team that defends well and they hustle, so we tried to emulate that and make our play better. We didn’t want to change too much because what we’ve had going right now has been working. We just stuck true to what we’ve been doing over the past 10 games.”
      Starting the season 0-3 tested the team’s mettle.
      “I wish we had those three games back, but I told the team yesterday that losing those first three matches taught us how to overcome adversity,” Martinez stated. “Everyone played amazing tonight so it is hard to pick just one player who stood out. They all stood out. The team has been consistent so we just need our leaders to keep leading and keep working on the little things in practice that will make us better.
      “We are finally to the point where now we can push ourselves a little bit harder and work on things that maybe we aren’t comfortable with. I want to keep on working on our blocking and blocking defense. Those are things that always need work.”
      After their 3-0 won over Crestview this past weekend, the Spartans were to travel to Howland at press time for an All-American Conference contest with the Tigers, then will entertain the Louisville Leopards on October 1 in their only other action for the week.
      The Spartans continued their winning streak Saturday with a sweep over Crestview.
      Leading the charge offensively was Flores with 19 kills and 9 digs. Ison added 5 kills, 3 digs, and 1 block, while Ludban stepped into a lead role and contributed 3 kills, 5 digs, and 1 block.
      Running the offense were Commons and Terlesky. Commons finished with 15 assists, 8 digs, and 5 aces, while Terlesky added 11 assists, 2 digs, and 2 blocks.
     
      PICTURED: photo/Howard Reese
       MAYA FLORES, 32, posted 19 kills, 8 digs and a par of blocks last week to lead the Boardman High School volleyball team to a three set sweep over Canfield. The win moved the Lady Spartans into first place in the All American Conference.