Norwalk dominant in tri-match sweep

SHELBY — The state-ranked Norwalk volleyball team looked the part on Saturday. Facing a pair of 13-2 Division IV teams on the road, Norwalk cruised to multiple two-set wins over Lexington and host Shelby. Norwalk — ranked No. 10 in last week's Div. III state poll — improved to 15-1 overall with the victories. It beat Lexington, 25-17 and 25-22, then beat the Whippets with scores of 25-22 and 25-20. "We're incredibly happy with how the girls played," Norwalk head coach Sarah Kipp said. "You wake up bright and early on an overcast Saturday morning and ride a bus 45 minutes, and you never know what you will get. "But the kids showed up and took care of business in routine fashion. Very pleased." Despite the scores, Kipp said her team did come out a bit slow against Lexington, who it beat in a Div. II district championship match last October in the same Shelby High School gym as Saturday. Norwalk also defeated the Whippets in the district semifinal last season. Lexington took an early 11-6 lead, and Kipp called a timeout. "Which is uncharacteristic," she said. "We had a moment, a conversation, and the kids went back out and turned things over and never looked back." Against Lexington, Schlotterer finished with 10 kills on 22-of-27 hitting. Sydney Moehlman added five kills and Maddie Gamble had four. Mac Wineman served 14-of-15 with 10 points and one ace, while Reagan Mooney added seven points on 11 for 11 serving. Wineman, Gamble and Schlotterer each had six digs, while Emily Tyler had 18 assists on 44-of-44 setting and also added four digs. Though Norwalk won't face the Whippets or Lady Lex again in the tournament like past years, Kipp said Saturday certainly serves as a confidence booster. Norwalk enters the second-to-last week of the regular season with one loss to Massillon Jackson (14-2), which has been ranked in the top five of the Div. I state poll all season. "We played four matches last week, knowing we were ending with two incredibly tough teams," Kipp said. "Both of them brought most of their players back from last year ... we knew these would be tough matches, and I'm happy with how the kids played." Norwalk (6-0 SBC Lake) will host Sandusky on Tuesday in what will serve as Senior Night for Sammi Chappell, Lucy Schlotterer and Mac Wineman. On Thursday, it visits Clyde (11-6, 3-3) before ending with a non-league match on Saturday at Ashland (11-5). "It's another big week," Kipp said. "We will recognize our three seniors on Tuesday, then we travel to Clyde on Thursday, and we're going to have a goal of good ball control there. "And Saturday, we finish off the week with what could be a sectional final or district semifinal matchup with Ashland. We'll get back in the gym on Monday and start preparing for another busy week."