Girls volleyball: Columbia wears down Black River for LCL win

COLUMBIA STATION — Unbridled power and relentless net defense allowed Columbia to get past Black River in a key Lorain County League volleyball matchup. Outside hitter Naziya Reid hammered 18 kills and middle hitter Cailyn Demagall had 14 kills and 10 blocks as the Raiders outlasted the Pirates 21-25, 26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 15-11 on Thursday night. Libero Remington Dieter made 29 often-remarkable digs, outside hitter Sydney Czarny had 12 kills and outside hitter Jenevieve Dieter fired a team-high 16 kills with 13 digs for Black River (11-4, 5-3) in the 2-hour, 9-minute battle. "They were very aggressive all night, but that was the most energy we've had all season and we didn't back down," said junior Czarny, who added nine digs. "We adjusted our blockers to their harder hits and there are a few things we can tweak the next time we see them, even if it's not until next year." Black River setter Morgan Kubitz posted 35 assists, defensive specialist Kate Dieter had three aces and middle hitter Maryn Biddle collected seven kills and nine blocks. Middle Olivia Bailey also came up big with seven kills and six blocks, but the Pirates fell two games off the pace in the LCL with six to play. "We continued to push hard the whole match, but sometimes, it doesn't go your way," senior Remington Dieter said. "Everyone understands this doesn't mean it's the end of the whole season for us. We still have time to get back in the race." Columbia (7-7, 6-2) unleashed 68 kills, committed 46 unforced errors and made 19 rejections. It also was at its best late in the second set and throughout the fifth, firing lasers just inside both sidelines. Outside hitter Lexi Miller totaled 15 kills and 12 assists, middle hitter Karlie Arcuri had 14 kills and seven blocks and Mariah Gonzalez doled out 41 assists for the Raiders. "Every time they play us, it seems like their numbers (of free-swinging hitters) get us," Pirates coach Courtney Dieter said. "We tried to adjust the block and tried to pull the sideline, but they hit their spots when they needed to." Black River's entire back row was strong, both in keeping balls and alive and serving effectively at perfect times against a much taller team. Briley Jackson had a pair of aces, twin Haley Jackson made several nice stops and Hailee Moskal made eight digs for the visitors. There were 29 ties and 10 lead changes, the most pivotal for the Pirates in the fourth when Jessica Blicha and Czarny had back-to-back putdowns to break a 23-all tie. "Maryn, Olivia and Jess were very good blocking," Czarny said. Remington Dieter also moved closer to becoming the Medina County career leader in digs, hopping over Brunswick's Rachael Crucis (1,481), Wadsworth's Kacie Evans (1,490) and Brunswick's Jordan Verbiak (1,496) into second place. The reigning district player of the year has 1,504 over four seasons, 22 behind all-time leader Emerson Futchko of Brunswick. "We're defensive heavy because of our size and I thought all of our girls were very good in the back row," coach Dieter said. "It was a super competitive game, both sides, and we had super energy. "The only thing that would have made it better for us was getting the win." Contact Brian Dulik at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @BrianDulik on X.