By Josh Staloch
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – The Seymour volleyball team is not losing sets early in its 2021 campaign.
Heading into Thursday’s contest at Green Bay East, the Thunder had only lost one frame on its way to a 4-0 overall record.
That trend continued, as Seymour, after enduring a hot start from the Red Devils, played a steady three sets and moved on to 5-0 with a 25-20, 25-12, 25-7 victory.
“We served well tonight,” Thunder head coach Stacey Jones said. “Our passing was on and off, so we need to put together better stretches of passing so we can attack better.”
East jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set and was playing well until a string of three straight points from Seymour – highlighted by a block and a kill from Olivia Swenson – cut the lead to 7-5.
Shortly after, the Red Devils came up with a big point on a long rally highlighted by Paige Bielinski keeping the point alive that saw her nearly go into the bleachers.
Mishits and miscues caught up with East, and the home team saw its lead disappear on two aces from Seymour’s Swenson.
The teams went back and forth for the rest of the set.
At 24-20, the Thunder closed it out when Sydney Levanetz fooled the East defense with a soft hit to the open court.
Seymour kept up the pressure in the second frame.
Four big plays from Hazel Cook – a kill followed by three aces – equaled a 14-5 lead for the visitors.
Cook’s strong serve closed out the set with another ace shortly after.
The third set didn’t get any easier for the Red Devils, who struggled to get a handle on the Seymour service game which led to limited opportunities for their offense.
The Thunder’s Tayja Cornell served up an ace to make it 17-3, and they cruised from there.
“The girls have played well,” Jones said about her team’s progress this season. “We need to keep working hard and keep improving. We’re going to run into tougher competition as we move along in the season. We need to keep preparing so we can be ready for that.”