Ashland tops St. Paul in state-ranked matchup

NORWALK — In a matchup of two state-ranked teams four divisions apart, it was visiting Ashland, claiming a four-set win over St. Paul on Saturday in a non-league volleyball match. Since losing in four sets to Norwalk on Aug. 22, the Division III No. 11-ranked Arrows (20-1) have won 20 straight, including Saturday in Norwalk with scores of 25-16, 25-23, 19-25, 25-20. For the Div. VII No. 6-ranked Flyers (15-4), Ella Kalizewski had 11 kills, four blocks, and seven digs. Annie Friend had 28 assists, six digs, and was 14 for 15 serving with three aces. Ryleigh Mansfield-Bush was 16 for 17 serving with two aces, and also had 13 kills and 15 digs for St. Paul. Kate Stieber was 7 for 10 serving with three aces and nine digs, while Raeleigh Friend was 16 for 17 serving with two aces, and Sydney Wurzel had six digs. St. Paul needs a win at Crestview (16-4, 9-3) on Tuesday or a win over New London (4-16, 2-10) on Thursday to clinch the Firelands Conference title outright. The Flyers defeated the Cougars in four sets back on Sept. 17 in Norwalk. Willard 3, Ontario 1 ONTARIO — The Crimson Flashes improved to 13-7 overall with a non-league road win over the Warriors on Oct. 10. Willard posted scores of 27-25, 25-18, 19-25, and 25-13. Leah Weiss finished with 23 kills and 15 digs and also served 13 for 14 with two aces for the Flashes. Mya Stephens had six kills, 12 digs, and was 22 for 26 serving with 17 points and seven aces. Emelia Tallman was 11 for 12 serving with two aces, and also had 37 assists and nine digs. Edyn Carr added 10 points and three aces to go with 15 digs, while Lauren Vogel had 10 digs. Athelia Atkins had nine kills and Brinn Trimner added eight. "We were very flat starting out but were able to fight back to take the first set," Willard head coach Ashley Bond said. "We were our own worst enemy in the third set but turned it back around in the fourth. "It will be nice to have a day off this upcoming week, as it seems we have been non-stop on-the-go this year." Willard is at Bellevue on Oct. 17 and hosts Oak Harbor on Oct. 22 in a Div. V tournament match. Norwalk sweeps road tri-match LEXINGTON — The Truckers swept a pair of matches in non-league play on Oct. 10 to improve to 14-6 overall ahead of a big week. Norwalk defeated host Lexington (8-12) and also defeated Shelby (12-8) by scores of 25-15 and 27-25. The Truckers, who are 5-1 in the Northern Ohio Conference Lake Division, visit Tiffin Columbian (9-11, 2-3) on Tuesday. With a win, Norwalk can do no worse than a share of the league championship. The Truckers are tied with Perkins (14-4, 5-1) after the two teams won on the other's home court during the regular season. The Pirates visit Clyde (8-12, 2-4) on Tuesday and host the Tornadoes on Thursday to finish their league slate. Norwalk opens the Div. III postseason on Oct. 21 against Mansfield Madison (3-15).