RIDERS TOP TITANS IN PATROON CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL OPENER
Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor
The Ichabod Crane Riders hosted Taconic Hills on Monday in what was the league opener for both teams. The Riders captured the game with a 3-0 victory, but the contest was closer than the final sweep indicated. The scores were 26-24, 25-19 and 25-21.
The Riders jumped out early in the first game but saw the Titans fight back. Senior Devin Collins came through in a big way for ICC, coming up with a big kill to knot the game at 19 before reeling off three straight service points late as the Riders took the game.
The second game again saw Ichabod Crane jump ahead early before the Titans used their superior size to control the net and work their way back into things. In this game, it was Andrew Stevens who came up big for the Riders with kills and serves. Up 18-17, Collins put in three more service points to put the Riders out in front for good.
Despite the solid play in the first two sets, the third was sloppy, with both teams making unforced errors. Just as the first two sets, the Riders jumped out and the Titans fought back, but it was not enough as the Riders hung on for the win.
Ichabod Crane improves to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in conference, while the Titans fell to 0-1 in the league. Both teams came in with high hopes, and it was obvious that all the time off early in the season has slowed the teams down. For the Riders, the biggest problem will be a lack of depth—the team has just nine players—and also a distinct lack of size. The Titans, on the other hand, have plenty of size and depth but lacked consistent serving and setting in the loss.
