ANSONIA – The Ansonia Lady Tigers volleyball team earned a 3-0 Thursday night WOAC win over the visiting Tri-County North Lady Panthers.
“We built off of our win from Tuesday,” said first-year Ansonia head coach Lexi Custenborder. “We won in three against FM, which is big for us. We carried the same energy and momentum into tonight, which was great to see.”
The Lady Tigers took an early 4-0 first-set lead and grabbed their first double-digit lead of the night at 13-3. Ansonia made it a 16-4 lead, bringing a timeout from the Lady Panthers’ bench. The Lady Tigers closed out the first set with a 9-4 run to take the opening set by a 25-8 score.
“The girls did a great job,” said Tri-County North coach Allison Roush. “Sometimes that first set is a little slow. They’re trying to figure out the layout of the court, and once they figure that out, they start putting the ball away.”
Tri-County North kept set number two in reach, trailing 19-13 before the Lady Tigers took advantage of a 6-2 run to go up 2-0 with a second set 25-15 win.
The Lady Panthers battled back, taking a 6-4 lead to open third set play. Ansonia got back in the game with a 7-1 scoring run to lead 11-7, bringing a North timeout.
“That is just part of us still learning,” Coach Custenborder said of the third set’s slow start. “We’re trying to build our program so when we have those low moments, the most important thing is seeing them bounce back, and that’s growth for us.”
Ansonia closed out the night with a 14-6 run to win the third set 25-13 and earn the Western Ohio Athletic Conference victory.
“That second and third set is when we come back,” Coach Roush said. “They do a heck of a job, they’re a great team to work with, and they work well together, they talk a lot with each other, and I am very proud of them even when we lose.”
With the win, Ansonia improves to 3-1 on the young season, and Tri-County North goes to 3-3 on the year.
