St. John Lutheran cruises through First Baptist in opening round of district tournament

St. John Lutheran’s Isabelle Baluyot (17) digs the ball against First Baptist Christian Academy during a volleyball match at St. John Lutheran School in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. St. John won the match 3 sets to 0. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted October 18, 2021 | By James Blevins
james@ocalagazette.com

It was smooth sailing for the St. John Lutheran Saints girls’ volleyball team Monday afternoon as they took care of the visiting First Baptist Christian Academy Crusaders in three-straight sets, winning the District 2A-9 quarterfinal match 3-0 on Oct. 18.

The No. 1 seed Saints, who are hosting the district tournament, defeated the No. 8 seed Crusaders 25-2, 25-6, 25-7, taking less than an hour to move on to the next round.

Head coach Brad Ewers said that he really likes the depth of his Saints team, adding that such depth has contributed mightily to St. John going 16-5 overall in 2021.

“We’ve got 15 players and they can all really play,” said Ewers after the game. “Our goal is always to move forward, so we’ll see how we do as we move forward through the tournament.”

He also admitted to not facing many district opponents during the just-wrapped-up regular season. The Saints have only previously played First Baptist and First Academy this year, winning both earlier matches.

Ewers said he trusts his team to handle whichever team is thrown at them.

“We’re prepared to play. We’ll take a look at each future opponent, see what it is and go from there,” he added.

Freshman Ashley Downs opened the first set from the service line on Monday, scoring five straight aces for the Saints. It would be 9-0 in favor of St. John before First Baptist earned its first point off an Emily Ferrero fault.

St. John would roll after that with another nine-straight points, eventually taking the first set 25-2 behind the service of Rylee Palmateer, Laney Reese and Logan Wilemon, who had one, three and two aces, respectively.

The Crusaders would fight back in the second set, grabbing the first point and keeping things close, 6-3, till Giselle Baluyot took over service. The sophomore Saint helped her team gain the advantage with an ace after two-straight kills by Isabel Freeman.

Before First Baptist knew what hit it, St. John began to separate, extending its lead to 12-4.

Freshman Payton Nazzari would serve for seven straight points later in the second set, earning one ace and helping to lead her Saints team to the second frame win, 25-6.

Serving to open the third set, junior Saylor Spears would go on a tear, helping to put St. John up 13-0 in short order.

From there, it would be a tag-team combination of Angely Antonio, Giselle Baluyot, Downs, Ferrero, Freeman and Nazzari from behind the service line, inching the Saints ever closer to the third set’s final tally of 25-7—and a St. John first-round victory.

Key offensive players for the Saints were Freeman, who had six kills; Sophia Ochoa (five kills); Giselle Baluyot (five kills); and Isabelle Baluyot (five kills and one blocked shot).

St. John will next face the winner of another quarterfinal match between No. 4 Meadowbrook Academy and No. 5 Calvary Christian Academy. The semifinal match will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. in one of two District 2A-9 semifinals scheduled on Tuesday.