Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes LaBrae senior Rylee McDonough sets the ball during a 3-0 win over Brookfield. She led the Vikings with 12 assists.

LEAVITTSBURG — It’s been quite a long time since the LaBrae volleyball team claimed a conference title in 2010, but the Vikings appear to have something special cooking on the court this fall.

A three-set sweep at home over Brookfield on Tuesday night was their latest success, earning a perfect 7-0 start to the season.

Last season, the Vikings dropped the season opener before winning seven consecutive games and later fell to South Range in the playoffs, ending their season with an overall record of 13-9. With only two seniors, LaBrae is still the young team they were a year ago, but with a lot more experience in tow. The Vikings appear sharper and have only lost two sets through their first seven contests.

During the first set against the Warriors, LaBrae (7-0) earned a 25-7 rout, but a much more tightly contested second set ensued.

“I think the game of volleyball is a game of ups and downs, and I think that we played pretty sound. We had a lot of energy going into the first set, we were ready to rock and roll going into the game tonight,” Vikings coach Courtney Kish said. “I think we got a little settled going into that second set, so I think we had a few service errors. We had a few mistakes on our end that we needed to clean up.”

Brookfield (3-4) found itself up 4-1 early in the second set, but the Vikings clawed back, eventually keeping it to within a point or two before pulling away late.

Rylee McDonough is one of two seniors for LaBrae and led her team with 12 assists against Brookfield, while also tacking on four kills. Her leadership played a role as the third set played out as she knew that match sweeps are easier said than done.

“It’s mostly just a lot of the energy, positive energy, and once you make a mistake, you can’t let it change your game,” McDonough said about changing players in and out. “It’s going to give us different hitters, different blockers, different talents, and I think that really challenges the other team.

“I think I communicated pretty well, my hitting was good, and I think I set everyone pretty evenly. We just try to bond, especially with a lot of the freshmen. We make sure our team has good communication skills, that’s really the key to volleyball.”

LaBrae claimed the match with a 25-13 victory in the third set. Junior Taylor Burns led the charge with eight kills, while sophomore Shelby Bragg tacked on five assists.

Sophomore libero Khloe Sanderson led the host team with six digs and has played a major role in the perfect start to the season.

It all began last season when she started the second half of the year as a freshman. She earned some confidence and valuable varsity playing time early.

“We saw our potential and we knew that we had to do something about it, so this year we really came out strong,” Sanderson said. “Getting used to the atmosphere definitely helps starting this year off, just not being nervous. No jitters, it helps start off the season strong.

“It is a little intimidating, but I know that I wouldn’t be out there if I wasn’t trusted, so it helps calm the nerves.”

Kish adds. “Even after this past season, we graduated two, so we had a lot of people returning this year. So while we’re young, we were younger last year, so we had a lot of our returners come back this year. I just think that we put up a lot of fight and that’s the team I’ve always wanted. I wanted a team with scrap, and I think that we’ve gotten that team this year.”

Sophomore Ella Kuszmaul leads her team with nine blocks on the season, while McDonough leads the team with 72 kills, averaging 3.4 per set. Sanderson has recorded 98 digs, recording 4.7 a set. Burns has 18 aces, along with 51 kills through seven games.

Rachel Krukowski is the other senior and received credit from Kish.

“At the end of the day, as long as we can battle back and push through, as we always say ‘A good player has their ups and downs, a great player lets that last play go and moves onto the next one.'” Kish said.

With a 4-0 MVAC record, LaBrae has only lost sets to Newton Falls and Garfield. The Vikings eye the opportunity to keep their momentum rolling when they visit Liberty this Thursday.

Knowing how much of a deflating feeling losing early in the postseason was last October, McDonough sees an extra edge to her team so far.

“I’m very confident this year, I feel like we’re good competition and play really good together,” she said.

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