Grace Lorimor had just served one point to give Columbus Christian match point in its season opener against the Columbus Hawks when her father, Hawks coach Chris Lorimor, called timeout to ice her.
It worked … but only temporarily.
Grace Lorimor served one that went just long to allow the Hawks to close to within 24-22 in the third set. But after another Hawks point cut the lead to one, the Crusaders won a long rally to finish off a 25-15, 27-25, 25-23 victory in a match played at Westside Community Church.
“It was my dad who called the timeout, so I can’t use that excuse,” Grace Lorimor said. “It was a little weird, but it was fun. I have friends on both teams.”
Columbus Christian led 12-8 in the first set before beginning to pull away.
In the second set, the Hawks jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind the serving of Cami Hoene. The set featured seven lead changes before the Cruaders took set point on an ace by Mayah Schundelmier.
The third set was another close one with six lead changes.
“I could tell we were pretty tight that first one, and once we got that out of our system, the girls really showed what they had,” Chris Lorimor said. “They have a lot of grit, and they played their hearts out.”
Emily Walls and Kathryn Tuttle each had 29 assists for the Hawks. Lucy Herridge pounded two kills, Walls added three digs and Tuttle served four aces.
Schundelmier netted eight kills and one solo and three assist blocks, and Sabrina Herron added nine digs, seven aces and six blocks to lead Columbus Christian. Lorimor had one solo block, Erica Gregg added three assist blocks and Hannah Stair recorded seven digs.
The two teams will play again Thursday at Columbus Christian. Chris Lorimor and Crusaders coach Sarah Stair were both assistants at Columbus Christian the past few years.
“We kind of saw tonight as a scrimmage against a team that we know and a coach that we used to coach with,” Sarah Stair said. “I had a different lineup every set, still trying to figure out exactly where everybody is going to fit and how this season is going to go.”
