BBC VOLLEYBALL … Pettisville’s Macy Hoylman gets the ball past the Edon defense.
PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
EDON BOMBER … Adison Briner looks for a point in last week’s BBC tilt at Pettisville.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
PETTISVILLE (September 23, 2025) – The Pettisville Blackbirds took on the tenacious Edon Bombers to win a tough matchup in four sets of volleyball play at home Tuesday night.
The contest began with a closely fought battle to 6-6, with a pair of spikes by sophomore Lucy Morris and one by junior Grace Ripke leading the way for Edon, with one by senior Blackbird Naomi Richer.
They continued close play to a score of 13-11, with Blackbird kills by Richer and seniors Samantha Minchella and Macy Hoylman, and Bomber kills by junior Adison Briner and Ripke.
Pettisville then hit the gas, putting together back-to-back four- and six-point runs, including another Richer kill and an ace by Hoylman while giving up just one point in between on a ball hit out of bounds. Edon tried to come back with a four-point run of their own, but a consecutive kill and ace by Richer sealed the first set, 25-16.
After two Blackbird points to start the second set, the Bombers appeared to come roaring back with a six-point run, including two consecutive kills from Morris, but the Blackbirds answered with their own four-point run to tie it at 6.
The teams traded for ties at seven and eight points before Edon took five out of six points, including a pair of consecutive kills by Briner, interrupted by a Pettisville kill courtesy of a Richer spike that struck one of the Bombers in the face before hitting the ground for a kill.
Pettisville went on to take six out of the next seven points, including yet another Richer kill as well as a pair of aces by senior Grace Hastings, which was followed by an Edon kill by Morris to tie the set at 15. The Blackbirds turned up the heat, putting together consecutive runs of four, three, and three points, including two more Richer kills, to take the second set, 25-17.
The Bombers took the early lead in the third set, going up 3-0 on faults and an ace by Ripke, but hit the ball out of bounds on the next six points to give Pettisville a 6-3 lead. Serve errors and more balls hit out of bounds eventually tied the set at seven.
Three more Pettisville points were followed by five from Edon, including an ace from junior Genna Ripke and two kills by Morris. More back-and-forth battling eventually led to a tie at 15 after an ace by freshman Miriam Richer.
The teams would go on to tie at 16, 17, 18, and 19 points, when a four-point Bomber run gave Edon the edge. Each team earned one more point before an untouched kill by sophomore Madison Baker gave Edon the set, 25-20.
Play again remained close in set four, with the teams tying at 1, 2, 4, and 5, when Edon began to slowly edge away from Pettisville, earning 11 points to the Blackbirds’ four, including two kills each from Morris and Briner, and one each from Baker and Grace Ripke, to put them up 16-9.
Not to be put away so easily, Pettisville began to take the scoring advantage as they narrowed the Bomber lead to 21-18 as both teams showed their tenacity, repeatedly making big saves to keep points alive.
The Blackbirds then went on a momentum-shifting six-point run, including kills by Miriam Richer, Naomi Richer, Hoylman, and freshman Madison Miller to bring the score to 24-22.
The Bombers managed one final point, a Briner spike to the face of a Blackbird player, before Miller slammed in an untouched kill to take the final set 25-22 and the match 3-1.