Smithville had to skate by with only a one-set margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the three-set drubbing they dealt Rittman on Thursday. The Smithies put the hurt on the Indians with a sharp 3-0 win. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 3-0 back in August.
Smithville's got stronger as the match went on, holding Rittman to fewer and fewer points set over set. The final score came out to 26-24, 25-14, 25-10.
Leah Keib
| 09/18/25 vs Rittman | 4 |
| 08/20/25 vs Perry | 3 |
| 09/09/25 vs Hillsdale | 2 |
| 09/02/25 @ Dalton | 2 |
| 08/16/25 @ West Branch | 2 |
Smithville was led to victory by Lindsey Neff and Leah Keib. Neff had ten digs and two assists, while Keib had eight digs and four aces. Those four aces gave Keib a new career-high.
They weren't the only good server: Smithville was lethal from the service line and finished the game with 12 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in 13 consecutive matchups.
Mackenzie Beltz and Alexis Olinger certainly did their best on Thursday to avoid the loss. Beltz had 17 assists and seven digs, while Olinger had six kills and two blocks. Beltz has been hot for a while, having posted 15 or more assists the last 12 times she's played.
Smithville is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten games. That's provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. As for Rittman, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-8.
Looking ahead, Smithville will take on Galion at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. As for Rittman, they will square off against Oberlin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
