KINSMAN - It would be easy for most teams to collapse under the pressure of an opponent's 10-0 run.
After winning the first game, John F. Kennedy High School's volleyball team didn't fade as Lordstown rolled off the first 10 points.
The Eagles didn't win that game, but that didn't kill their spirit as they won the next two games to win 3-1 - 25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 25-12 on Tuesday during a Division IV sectional semifinal at Badger High School.
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Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple
John F. Kennedy’s Danielle Covelli returns the ball against Lordstown on Tuesday night. The Eagles defeated the Red Devils in four games.
"It's always in the back of your head when you're scrambling," Kennedy's Kayla Powell said. "You have to remember you have to come together as a team. It's not just one person making mistakes, it's everybody.
"You have to play as a team and you have to come back as a team."
In that second game, Kennedy slowly and methodically chipped away Lordstown's lead by popping up at the net for the occasional block and sacrificing their bodies by diving for one of the 52 digs JFK had .
Morgan Rice led Kennedy with 23 digs.
"Our digging was great. We had a couple of errors, but we came here and fixed them," Powell said.
Kennedy eventually cut the Lordstown lead to 24-21, but one of Sarah Cash's 21 digs ended the Eagles' rally.
"She's amazing all-around player," said Lordstown coach Jennifer Rudd about Cash, who also had seven blocks. "She's the one we count on the most, whether it's serving, passing, blocking, hitting."
Kennedy coach Bob Plant said the Eagles playing top-flight competition in the North Coast League helped the Eagles overcome most situations - including that second game and going on to win Tuesday's match.
"It taught the girls to be tough and have self-confidence, that you can come from behind and do things if you try hard enough," Plant said.
Defensively, the Eagles adjusted its defense to take away Lordstown's kill opportunities.
"Tonight we did a single block instead of a double block," Powell said. "That way, we knew their middle was pretty good at spotting. That created one more passer and we did a great job covering the tips."
In game three, Kennedy broke a 10-all tie to outscore the Red Devils, 11-3, en route to a 25-23 victory.
In game four, the Eagles dominated as they took an 18-9 lead en route to a 25-12 victory with some Powell kills peppered in the final game.
Powell, who is the Eagles' softball pitcher, said her form made it possible.
"Always follow through and snap, make sure you keep the ball inbounds - have them make the mistakes," Powell said.
Lordstown (11-12) had trouble getting things together Tuesday, Rudd said.
"It was hard to say what was going on with my girls," Rudd said. "There were a lot of attitudes on the court for some reason and I can't figure out why. Everybody was in a good mood when we first got here. We're all getting along fine. It seems like they all fell apart."
But, Rudd said JFK played quite well.
"They pulled together and played great. I'm sure their coach couldn't of asked for anything better," Rudd said.
With the victory, Kennedy (10-13) will take on second-seeded Windham in a sectional final, Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
