(Sentinel photo by Brian Schekirke) Gehlen setter Amber Timmins reaches up to block a hit by A-W's Jordan Harris Tuesday in Akron. [Click to enlarge]

It was a battle of height Tuesday night in Akron as Gehlen Catholic stomped Akron-Westfield 3-0 in a War Eagle Conference match.

With the 5-11 Brittney Schlichte plus Alexis Wiltgen and Rachel Tilley both topping off at 5-10, the Lady Jays' front row had the height to take on A-W's Karly Groon. Add in the 5-11 Jessie Timmins on the right side and the powerful leaping ability - likely perfected each spring in the hurdles - of the 5-7 Kayla Hatting and the Lady Jays were set at the net.

Gehlen came out strong in the first two games, grabbing decisive 25-11 wins in games one and two.

(Sentinel photo by Brian Schekirke) Gehlen's Alexis Wiltgen and Rachel Tilley join forces to block a hit by A-W's Karly Groon. [Click to enlarge]

"Gehlen is a very good team, we knew that going in," A-W coach Megan Freeman said. "I think they have a faster tempo than we are used to, so it was definitely a struggle. The girls could have easily given up in the second game and I was impressed with how they came back. The score doesn't really show it, but they came back and made a lot of adjustments."

The Lady Westerners fought hard to keep the match going in game three, but Gehlen came away with the 25-15 win to take the match 3-0.

"It was a very solid and convincing win for us," Gehlen coach Mike Meyer said. "I was very pleased that the girls played at a high level throughout the entire match."

"It was one of our finest offensive matches as we hit .372 for the night."

The Lady Jays spread their offensive attack among their five tall hitters. Wiltgen led the squad with 11 kills while Hatting smacked down 10. Tilley rained down seven kills on the Lady Westerners while Jessie Timmins recorded five and Schlichte pounded in four.

"We had a good rhythm to the offense - our setters [had their] finest match - and we kept mistakes to a minimum," Meyer said.

Freshman setter Amber Timmins dished up 22 assists in the match while Danielle Gunter added 11 to the offense.

Defending the Lady Jays' tall and aggressive attack for A-W were Tasha Johnson and Karly Groon. Johnson blocked three hits while Groon blocked two.

In the back row, Jordan Harris dug out 11 balls to lead the squad while libero Jordan Dirks and setter Caitlin Heyl each recorded eight digs.

On offense, Harris and Groon paced the Lady Westerners at the net. Harris pounded in five kills while Groon smacked down four.

The Lady Westerners tried to add another aspect to their offense with their serving game. Heyl was a perfect 8-8 from the service line while Dirks went 5-5. Both girls smacked in a pair of ace serves.

Meyer saw the Lady Jays' serving effort as another positive attack in the match. "It was also a strong serving night for us in that we had 14 aces and served at a 91 percent clip," he said. "Danielle Gunter and Jessie Timmins both had prolonged streaks in the service box."

Jessie Timmins was nearly perfect as she went 18-19 at the line with two aces. Gunter recorded the team-high four aces as she was 16-17 and libero Kayla Holtgrewe was 10-11 with a pair of ace serves.

On defense, Tilley blocked three hits on her own and joined up with Schlichte to block one more. Schlichte also had a solo block in the match.

Hatting and Holtgrewe teamed up in the back row to dig out eight balls each to boost the Lady Jays' defense.

In the passing game, Hatting was 12-14 and Wiltgen was 11-12 while Holtgrewe was perfect at 9-9.

Both squads continue conference play Thursday on the road, with the Lady Jays heading to Orange City to take on Unity Christian and the Lady Westerners headed to Remsen to face St. Mary's.

Gehlen and A-W have one more meeting scheduled for this season and a crucial one at that. The squads will face off in the first round of regional playoffs on Wednesday, Oct. 22 in Le Mars.