HITTING ATTEMPT … Swanton’s Emma Forrest attacks the net for a kill against two Montpelier blockers.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILAGE REPORTER
NONLEAGUE VOLLEYBALL … Montpelier senior Bella Ramos sets up a teammate in a nonleague match at Swanton.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
SWANTON (September 2, 2025) – After dropping a match to highly touted Tinora and looking just slightly stale in a win over Wauseon, Kyle Borer’s Swanton Bulldogs got back on track with a three-set romp over Montpelier, 25-11, 25-14, and 25-13 to raise their record to 5-1 on the year.
“From the Tinora match last week, we’ve shown improvement in our consistency and offensively,” Borer explained.
“We started off hot against Tinora, but then subsided in a sense, and against Wauseon, we needed to get our confidence back and work our ball control, and we did that for the most part tonight.
“There were moments we had hitting errors, especially in the second set. We just have to forget about one play and move on to the next.”
The Bulldogs got off fast, getting points from six different players to take a 14-3 first-set lead. Lexi Faber’s pair from the left side, two more by Emma Forrest from the right, two kills and an ace from Kinley Curtis, Cara Ludlow’s push, and then slap backs out of middles, Madison Roytek and Kaylee Mosko fueled the early burst.
Zoe Uribes’ shot from the left side keyed a comeback that got the Locos within single figures at 18-9, but Ellie Saunders scored an ace, and Ludlow added two kills to finish off the first set.
Alyvia Repp slammed a block to keep the Locos even early in the second at 4-4. The Bulldogs responded with a five-point run that included a Curtis ace and left side bullet, along with another slam back from Mosko to take a 9-4 lead.
Bella Ramos’ block got the Locos back to 12-10, but a Faber ace, Foytek’s block, and a Forrest right cross that Apollo Creed would be proud of, regained control at 17-10.
Curtis tacked on three more kills to help end the second set. Swanton again went up big in the third. Forrest delivered again with two kills, Beyla Remer got an ace, and Faber nailed two more target shots to give Swanton a 13-5 lead.
Repp’s two left side shots closed the gap to 13-9, and then the sophomore laced an ace to keep the gap at 17-13.
“They were scrappy,” Borer said of the Locos. “They played hard, and they just work and make adjustments. We were very spread out on offense. Emma got a lot of swings and had good results.
“Cara had a lot of kills, so it’s good to have those options and have girls step up when we need them to and make plays.”
The Bulldogs rang up the last eight points after that, three each from Faber and Ludlow, to put a lid on the match.
Swanton d. Montpelier, 25-11, 25-14, 25-13
Montpelier (0-7): Maggie Jacob – 11 digs; Bella Ramos – 40/40 setting, 8 assists
Swanton (5-1): Alexa Faber – 23/27 hitting, 14 kills, 15 digs; Kinley Curtis 25/31 hitting, 10 kills, 20/20 serving, 3 aces, 12 digs; Cara Ludlow – 16/18 hitting 10 kills, 64/64 sitting, 18 assists; Ellie Saunders – 42/42 sitting, 21 assists