Comets handle Fostoria 3-1

FOSTORIA – Fostoria was almost there.After losing the first two sets, the Lady Red won Set 3 and led late in Set 4.In seemingly a blink of an eye, Genoa won the last eight points of the match to send Fostoria to a disappointing 25-22, 25-18, 19-25, 25-18 Northern Buckeye Conference loss Tuesday.It is the second straight tough home loss for the Lady Red (5-10 overall, 1-6 NBC). Against Hopewell-Loudon on Saturday, Fostoria was up two sets to none before losing in five."We showed on Saturday how well we can play and we were up," FHS coach Destiny Long-Meyer said. "We handed the match over and that's kind of what we did tonight."Down 2-0 to Genoa (3-9, 1-6), the Lady Red finally got a good start to a set in Set 3. Fostoria trailed a few points in, but won four straight to go up 7-4.Later, the Lady Red expanded the lead to 12-6 after a kill by Karma Williams and service ace by Marisol Bernal. The margin expanded to 16-9 after consecutive hitting errors by the Comets.Fostoria maintained control throughout the set, playing like a well-oiled machine. Williams smacked another kill before Addisyn Talley tallied one herself to make it 22-12. Two errors by Genoa and another kill from Talley gave the Lady Red the set."I changed my lineup some and adjusted some people," said Long-Meyer of the change in the third set. "They showed up to play over some of my starters."Still facing an upward climb, Fostoria got off to a slow start in Set 4, much like the first two sets. The Comets raced out to a 7-2 lead after four straight errors by the Lady Red.Fostoria had to play catch-up from there and stayed within striking distance of Genoa. Still down 15-11 later, the Lady Red won five straight points that included an ace from Brooklyn Holman, two kills by Williams, and a kill from Amirah Johnson.That gave Fostoria its first lead of the set. The Lady Red also led 17-16 and 18-17, but the Comets finished strong. Liv Kimpon registered back-to-back kills before a kill by Emma Lamb and ace by Courtney Chapinski forced a Fostoria timeout. Kimpon tallied a block out of the break before Lamb put down back-to-back-to-back kills to finish it."I put my junior varsity in and they really stepped up," Long-Meyer said. "They showed what kind of character they had. They won that third set for us."It was all Genoa in the first two sets. Fostoria found itself down 8-2 in Set 1. The Lady Red settled in and really got going in the middle of the set. A 8-1 run by Fostoria built a 20-16 lead for the Lady Red.The Comets had the answer with the next five points. A kill by Adori Bishop for Fostoria tied the set at 21, but Genoa won three points and took the opening set on a Lady Red service error."My players got into their heads a lot and they started to show attitude," Long-Meyer said.The Lady Red never led in Set 2. Fostoria trailed 4-1 and later 8-3, falling behind the 8-ball early. The Lady Red didn't really make a run at the deficit, getting as close as three points once.Genoa used powerful hitting from a plethora of hitters to attack Fostoria's defense from all sides. Maya Lamb, Emma Lamb, and Katelyn Ju each smacked kills to help Genoa run away with the set."We have to try to push our girls to do better and keep a positive mindset no matter if they're playing or on the bench," Long-Meyer said.Williams led Fostoria with 10 kills, 10 digs, and two blocks while Bernal had 14 assists and three aces. Addisyn Talley added seven digs, two kills, and two aces, Bishop and Johnson each lined three kills, Braylee Talley (three digs) and Holman each added two kills, and Chazlyn Titus had five digs and two aces. Ashley Little tallied six assists for the Lady Red."We have to push our girls to try to snap out of whatever they have going on in their lives because they let it get to them a lot," Long-Meyer said.