Volleyball Recap: Carroll Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Kael Grothaus and Ian Lougeman

If Carroll was feeling good fresh off their 3-0 takedown of Wilmington Christian Academy on Monday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Patriots fell 3-1 to the Middletown Middies on Wednesday. The Patriots were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Middies apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in May of 2021.

The loss didn't mean the game wasn't competitive: Middletown scored at least 17 points in every set. The final score came out to 25-22, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22.

Kael Grothaus

Attacks Kills

05/07/25 @ Middletown	6
05/05/25 vs Wilmington Christian Academy	12
04/30/25 vs Northmont	12
04/29/25 vs Archbishop McNicholas	5
04/26/25 vs Lakota West	7
+ 3 more games

Carroll's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ian Lougeman, who had four digs and two aces, and Kael Grothaus, who had 12 digs, six kills, and two aces. Grothaus has been hot, having posted five or more kills the last eight times he's played.

Carroll has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost 12 of their last 15 matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 7-15 record this season. As for Middletown, the win (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 11-7.

Carroll didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 3-0 victory against Independence on the 12th. As for Middletown, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 2-1 loss against Chillicothe on the 10th.