BRADENTON — Two matches into the Jay Lanham era, and as expected, the Venice volleyball team hasn’t missed a beat.
After sweeping Sarasota in three sets (25-9, 25-10, 25-20) to open the regular season on Tuesday, the Indians continued their two-match road trip this week against Bradenton Christian on Thursday.
Similar to its match against the Sailors, Venice took control on Bradenton Christian’s home court, sweeping the Panthers in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-16) to move to 2-0, overall.
“I think it’s been good for us to get on the road and away from the Teepee to open the season this week,” Lanham said. “It was loud at Sarasota, and our girls did a great job of excelling in that environment. (Thursday), we needed to create a little more of our own intensity. It was a little quieter, and Bradenton Christian played us tough, but I was proud of the way we executed despite that.”
In the first set, Bradenton Christian’s scrappiness showed up in waves.
When Venice would open up a four or five-point cushion, the Panthers (1-1) had some kind of answer.
Eventually, the Indians found themselves down, 18-16, later in the set before going on a much-needed run.
Venice rattled off five points in a row, highlighted by kills from Summer Kohler and Tien Murray, pushing the Indians ahead, 21-18.
Eventually, a kill by Kyla Freddolino secured the 25-22 victory for Venice in the first set.
In the second set, the Indians led the way for the entire frame, building a 20-10 lead at one point. Their comfortable advantage would shrink largely, though, after an impressive 8-1 run from the Panthers.
Following a Venice timeout, Kohler came out and took control as the team’s senior leader. She had back-to-back kills and an ace to put Bradenton Christian away and help the Indians win the second frame.
“She was huge in the front row and the back row for us down the stretch there,” Lanham said. “We have to take advantage of having her as much as we can this year. It’s a huge bonus when you’re in a tough spot as a team, and you can go to someone like her.”
Some teams hit a wall after winning the first two sets, but that wasn’t the case this time around for the Indians.
Venice jumped all over Bradenton Christian in what would be the decisive set, putting together an 11-0 run to open the frame before leading by as many as 13 points later on.
Zoe O’Leary, Jacey McReynolds, Kohler and Freddolino all led the way for the Indians during the run.
“We served the snot out of the ball and put the other team in a tough position,” said Lanham of the run. “We were in system for a lot of that set, and as Bradenton Christian saw, when we’re in system, we’re really, really hard to beat.”
The Panthers made things a little interesting later in the set — trimming the Venice lead to eight — but the Indians eventually put the set away, winning 25-16.
During the match, Kohler (17), Freddolino (8) and O’Leary (6) led Venice in kills.
In digs, Brighton Ferguson led Venice with 13. Freddolino added 11 and Brooke Gruhl finished with nine. Gruhl also finished with 41 assists in the match.
“I feel like everybody’s been pretty locked in,” Lanham said. “It’s a fun group that’s taken ownership in film and in practice. This is a team that wants to play at their level, no matter who we’re playing. We need to dictate how things go against teams. I’m excited to see how we continue to progress in that area, because teams are going to be relentless as we start to face tougher competition.”
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