Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

FRANKLIN FURNACE — The St. Joseph Lady Flyers needed a fill-up. And a roadside rest stop.
With most of the volleyball team members also playing soccer, the Lady Flyers played two soccer games and a volleyball game the first three days of the week. They added a second volleyball game on Thursday in a Southern Ohio Conference game against the Green Lady Bobcats.
The Lady Flyers started strong with a 25-20 win before their energy level continued to decline as they lost the next three sets 22-25, 23-25 and 15-25.
St. Joseph played well defensively as Bella Whaley amassed 23 digs, Faith Mahlmeister racked up 20 digs, Chloe Sheridan and Jade DeGiorgio had 15 digs each, and Jadyn Green got 13 digs.
“I’m extremely proud of how hard our girls played tonight. Hats off to Green,” said Lady Flyers coach Scott Green.
“A few keys plays were the difference in the match. Bella Whaley played a great game defensively tonight. She sacrificed herself several times to keep plays alive and is starting to become a great leader through her hard work and effort on the floor.”
“The defense was great tonight. Green tipped a lot and we covered that well,” said Lady Flyers’ coach Scott Green. “We had plenty of opportunities to win, but the girls were just gassed.”
Green also had two aces, 11 kills, one assist and two solo blocks. Sheridan got 20 assists, one kill and one block assist.
Mahlmeister added an ace and eight kills to her game, Emilee Blankenship had one dig and two block assists, and Gracie Damron had an ace, three kills, one solo block and one block assist.
Whaley added one ace, one kill, one assist, one solo block and two block assists.
St. Joseph hosts Western at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We will regroup, get a few girls healthy who were out tonight with injuries and get back to work next week against Western,” said Green.
“We show signs of it all coming together but we just have to play more consistently. We will get there.”
The Lady Flyers host Western at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.