LAPEL–At 5’10” and blessed with long arms, quickness, and great leaping ability, Lapel sophomore Makynlee Taylor is an imposing figure.
Offensively and defensively, those attributes can lead to domination on a volleyball court.
Taylor recorded five kills and four blocks and led an early Bulldog blitz as Lapel routed Liberty Christian 25-10, 25-13, 25-15.
Lapel improved to 19-7 on the season while the Lions fell to 6-10.
Taylor set the tone early and Liberty Christian never recovered.
Three of the first four points of the match were scored off a pair of kills and a block by Taylor as Lapel raced out to an early 10-2 lead.
Lapel coach Hilary Eppert said Taylor’s early play was important to get the team off to a good start.
“It’s huge,” coach Eppert said. “To get her consistently putting the ball away is big for us. It’s always important if you can start strong, if you’re not digging out from behind a set, obviously, you’ve got an advantage.”
The second set started differently, with the Lions leading at one point 8-7. But Lapel responded with an 18-5 run to close out the set at take a 2-0 lead. Coach Eppert saw a moment of let down from the team early in the set, but it was short lived.
“We weren’t moving as quick as we need to,” she said. “We weren’t getting to our spots and being a little lazy on defense.”
Junior Emily Eppert led the Bulldogs with 11 kills and sophomore Zoe Freer added six as many of the Lapel hitters took advantage of junior setter Isabel Anderson and her 26 assists.
Taylor’s four blocks led the team, which recorded seven overall and numerous digs from the back row.
“She came out strong on that block,” coach Eppert said. “If I can just get her consistently to get up and over the net, it’s just got to be a mental thing for her.”
The Bulldogs dominated the service game as well. Lapel recorded 10 aces, led by junior Macie Schmitt’s three, while committing just three service errors. The Lions committed five errors and managed just one ace in the match.
Lapel’s next match will be Thursday night when they host Heritage Christian in their final home match of the year. Seniors Camryn Carpenter and Taylor Murdock will be honored prior to the varsity match, which will be played following the junior varsity match, scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
The Lapel JV needed a third set Tuesday to oust Liberty Christian 24-25, 25-14, 15-9. Freshman Lily Daniels had six kills, 16 assists and two aces, sophomore Karli Hutton recorded seven kills, freshman Katie Lehman had five aces, and freshman Madi Carpenter had four aces. Freshman Lauren Richards added three blocks.