Flyers reflect on yet another great volleyball season

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

Some people would say they overachieved.
If that’s true, it says a lot about the volleyball program that Amy Vorst has built at Lake.
Despite losing some key seniors from last year’s squad, Lake won its fifth consecutive league title and claimed its second straight district championship.
Not bad for Vorst, who had to work to rebuild the program when she took over 10 years ago and the Flyers went 4-18 in her first season.
But behind the play of Mylah Vorst, Kennedy Falkenberg, Keira Magers, Laynie Meadows and Sydney Marchetto, among others, Lake had another stellar season and went 19-7 before falling, 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 25-19, 25-10) to Cortland Lakeview in a Division IV regional semifinal.
In the loss to the Bulldogs, Falkenberg led the Flyers with 13 kills, while Magers and Meadows had 11 apiece with Myla Vorst chipping in nine. Marchetto added a team-high 25 digs, and Calli Conley had 16. Savanna Saunders (25 assists, 19 digs) and Lucy Boos (19 assists, 12 digs) each had double-doubles.
Other key players were Jada Jerew, Harlow Haberland, Adrian Roundtree, Caity Extine, Harlow Haberbrand, Lyla Castanzo, Sydney Brown and Sophia Gruetter.
Amy Vorst talked about the upperclassmen and underclassmen growing together into one, cohesive unit.
“The girls showed great improvement and had great chemistry,” she said. “We had a bunch of younger kids with big roles, and the older kids did a great job of mentoring them and really making them comfortable.”
The Flyers dominated in the district, beating Clyde, the No. 2 seed, 3-0, in the finals, and the two matches before that saw Lake beat Perkins, 3-1, and Bryan, 3-0.
Despite the Flyers sweeping Clyde, it was a competitive match, one that saw Lake edge the Fliers, 25-23, in the first set, 27-25, in the second set before cruising in the third set, winning it 25-14.
In the win over the Fliers, Myla Vorst led the offense with 17 kills and Magers had nine kills.
Meadows had nine kills to go with 16 digs. Marchetto led the Flyers with 20 digs, Boos had 18 assists and 16 digs, and Saunders had 18 assists and 19 digs.
The team will lose four seniors in Brown, Costanzo, Marchetto and Magers, but it should be ready to go next season.
There were 11 underclassmen on the team, so the future is bright.
“Most of our kids play volleyball year round,” said Amy Vorst. “Our culture is finally turning into what we want it to be. I think a big part was our kids have bought into our culture.
“They know what it takes to get better. The majority of our kids play club, so they are getting reps year round. We have the best parents who contribute so much to our players and help build the winning culture we've tried to create,” she said.
It’s always going to be a challenge competing in the Northern Buckeye Conference with the likes of Eastwood, Oak Harbor and Otsego. But Lake held its own, losing just once, finishing a game ahead of the Eagles, who went 12-2.
It’s safe to say that competing in such a tough conference prepared the Flyers for the gauntlet of postseason volleyball.
“The NBC is interesting. When I first started as head coach, Lake was considered a joke. Then we went through years where our toughest competition was Fostoria and Elmwood,” Amy Vorst said. “We have finally built the program to where we're a top contender. We prepare a lot for the postseason. We track down as many films as we can and go watch potential opponents. My assistant, Stacey Cromer, is great at networking and scouting.”