BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Mia Rivera had 21 kills for the Keystone Heights High School volleyball team, which won two straight sets after a 1-1 start to defeat visiting Bradford 3-1 (25-17, 17-25, 25-14, 25-18) on Aug. 21.
The Indians got off to a strong start in winning the first set. A 6-0 run with Kaleigh Marquart serving included kills from Mackenzie Castlevecchi and Kadence Massey, while a 6-0 run with Massey serving included three aces and two kills by Rivera.
Rivera added two more kills with Castlevecchi serving to help Keyston take a 17-2 lead.
Bradford pulled to within 24-16, taking advantage of errors, kills by Autumn DeKorver and Ar’Nayshia Griffin and a tip by Kingslee Phillips.
Rivera would eventually end the set with a kill.
DeKorver and Griffin each had a kill to help the Tornadoes take a 5-3 lead in the second set. Bradford then went on a 4-0 run with Shelby Cole serving.
A service ace by Manduo Wei and kills by Phillips and Wynter Barrington later helped the Tornadoes take a 13-5 lead, while a 4-0 run with Tatum Burkhalter serving made it a 19-10 game in favor of Bradford.
Keystone would close the gap, but a Griffin kill forced a side-out, making the score 23-17 with Wei serving. The Tornadoes scored two straight points off an error and a Cole dump over the net to close it out and tie the match.
The Indians got two kills from Rivera, one kill each from Massey and Bralee-Kate Chester and aces from Marquart and Massey in building a 14-4 lead in the third set.
It was 18-10 when Massey had two consecutive aces, putting the Indians up 20-10.
Rivera recorded the set-winning kill.
Bradford scored the first seven points of the fourth set with Phillips serving. The run included a Griffin kill and a DeKorver block.
After a Massey kill forced side-out, the Indians scored six straight with Marquart serving. Castlevecchi, Massey, Rivera and Rachel Blank each had one kill to help Keystone tie it at 7-7 before Bradford’s Griffin had a kill to force side-out.
Keystone trailed 11-9 before tying it up with DeKorver serving. The Tornadoes got kills from Ky’lee Johnson and Leila Roberts before the Indians’ Rivera had a kill to force side-out.
Two kills by Chester and one by Rivera helped Keystone start to pull away, with the Indians winning the match on a Castlevecchi kill.
Massey finished with eight kills, while Marquart had 37 assists and five aces.
Bella Cumbo led Keystone in digs with 16, while Massey had eight. Blank and Rivera each had six digs.
Castlevecchi recorded a team-high three blocks.
Other results
Keystone’s win over Bradford was its second straight after the Indians opened the season with a 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 22-25, 15-6) win over visiting Crescent City on Aug. 19.
Marquart recorded 31 assists to go along with six aces. Massey had eight aces, six kills and six digs.
The Indians got 15 kills from Rivera, three blocks from Chester and 10 digs from Blank. Cumbo had nine digs.
Keystone dropped two straight matches in an Aug. 23 tournament at Newberry, losing 3-1 (31-29, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24) to host Newberry on Aug. 23 and 3-2 (25-13, 25-21, 19-25, 18-25, 15-12) to Suwannee.
Bradford dropped its second straight match after opening the season with a 3-1 (25-21, 16-25, 25-15, 25-9) loss at Union County on Aug. 19.
The Indians (2-2) travel to play Columbia on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 6:30 p.m., following a JV match at 5:30 p.m. Keystone then hosts Union County on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. (JV match at 6 p.m.) before traveling to play Baker County on Tuesday, Sept. 2, with matches set for 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Bradford hosts Baker County on Monday, Aug. 25, at 6:30 p.m., following a JV match at 5:30 p.m. The Tornadoes host Palatka on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. and travel to play Hawthorne on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Bradford hosts Newberry at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
