Holy Trinity volleyball defeats Edgewood behind balanced attack

Holy Trinity and Edgewood squared off on Aug. 19 in their first meeting since the Tigers eliminated the Red Wolves in the regional quarterfinals last year.

Holy Trinity, playing in its season opener, spread the wealth for a balanced attack in a sweep of Edgewood 25-19, 25-13, 25-18.

“They were high energy on offense,” Holy Trinity head coach Kylie Kutzner said. “They were very consistent in ways that we were struggling with, so I was very proud of them for doing that (tonight).”

The offense was in midseason form for the Tigers despite new players stepping into the lineup. Holy Trinity ended the match with 34 kills, a .375 hit percentage and 17 aces.

“We have some very talented seniors who are creating a lot of opportunities for us offensively,” Kutzner said. “I think the younger classes are taking a really big responsibility and doing a really good job running the ball where they’re supposed to and hitting the ball where it’s supposed to.”

Tigers sophomore Stella Dawson led the team with 9 kills. Seniors Taylor Yochim and Brooke Ellingson posted 8 and 7 kills, respectively. Ellingson recorded a team-high 8 aces. Yochim, Dawson, senior Kilee Whyte and sophomore Samantha Smith served 2 aces each.

“It was just all around really great. I’m really proud of my team,” Yochim said. “I really think that having Gracin Borboroglu in the back row as a leader and having me and Brooke (Ellingson) in the front row is really great for everybody to look up to.”

The Tigers stayed in system for most of the night. They controlled the first two sets before running into adversity in set three.

Edgewood scored 5 straight points and built a 9-6 lead. After the Red Wolves went up 11-10, Holy Trinity rattled off 7 consecutive points to take back control. Edgewood trimmed the deficit to 19-17, but Holy Trinity scored 6 of the final 7 points to finish off the sweep.

“I think it was a really great game and a really great way to start the season and set the tone. I just think more wins like that are here to come. I think our passing progressively got better as the game went on,” Yochim said. “If we make a mistake, we easily correct it. I think the mistakes weren’t sticking with us. We were just getting on to the next point. I think that’s a really great quality for us to have this early.”

Yochim is one of four seniors on the Tigers and led returners with 198 kills last season. Holy Trinity fell one win shy of the state semifinals a year ago, adding extra fuel to the offseason.

“I think we are just going to keep going up and up,” Yochim said. “Having a really new team, we have a lot of potential growth. Our peak is yet to come and I’m excited to see what’s going to happen with that.”

Holy Trinity faces Merritt Island on Aug. 20. In order for the Tigers to get past the regional final, Kutzner said they need to be more consistent and reduce the errors.

“I would like to return to the regional final. I think it would be really great for this team to go there. It’s a little bit of a harder road with all the districts moving around,” Kutzner said. “We want to be competitive with everybody on our schedule. That’s the goal to be as competitive as possible.”

Edgewood, coming off a win over West Shore on Aug. 18, struggled to match the various weapons of Holy Trinity, finishing the match with 18 kills and a .043 hit percentage.

“I feel like there were a lot of good things and then there were opportunities for growth,” Edgewood head coach Shannon Dowdell said. “We’re very much of the mindset that when we make mistakes, it’s just an opportunity to learn. We give ourselves a deadline to feel about this until midnight and then we come back and have another game.”

The Red Wolves showed their fight in the first and third sets. After falling behind 18-8 in set one, Edgewood closed the gap to 5 points on two occasions. It trailed 19-17 in set three before Holy Trinity’s match-closing run.

Red Wolves junior Kelsey Kennedy and sophomore Maya Ferguson finished with 5 and 4 kills, respectively. Sophomore Chloe Tarango recorded 9 assists, 6 digs and 2 aces.

“I love when we had a great pass, running out middles. They’re very aggressive and that’s going to be very exciting to watch this season,” Dowdell said. “When we scrambled, we’re very good at hustling.”

Edgewood was led by senior Macy Ferguson, who posted 7 kills and 3 digs. The senior leads returners with 138 kills last season.

“I’m going to be so sad when she graduates. Macy (Ferguson) is a coach’s dream. She’s coachable, she’s got a great attitude, her intensity and effort is 100% all the time. She is a great teammate,” Dowdell said. “Even when she makes mistakes, she takes that little piece that she needs to and takes it into the next play and makes adjustments when she needs to. She’s one of those one of a kind players.”

Edgewood dropped to 1-1 and it’ll host Cocoa Beach on Aug. 20. The Red Wolves look to make it back to the state playoffs after qualifying for the first time since 2021 last year.

“I think we can go far. It’s always nice to have a team that doesn’t subscribe to drama,” Dowdell said. “They really like each other, so that makes a big difference on the court. They really are in it. They buy in and when you buy in, you produce.”