Annie Ossello made a triumphant return to the Butte Central volleyball team Saturday.
The 5-foot-9 senior blocker scored two key points in the tie breaker as the Maroons pulled out a25-17, 20-25, 25-12, 21-25, 15-10 win at the Maroon Activities Center.
“It’s great for us to win. It’s good for me to be back and it’s just good for us to win as a team,” Ossello said. “I think that was a team win.”
Ossello played her first match of the season. She said she was dealing with some “weird health issues” that she hopes are in the past.
“It was so good to be back with my teammates. I couldn’t ask for better teammates,” Ossello said. “They are so encouraging. Through everything they stood by me, and I’m just blessed to have them.”
BC coach Kaila Minehan said Ossello has actually been back with the team for about three weeks. However, with the Maroons’ busy schedule, it took a while for Ossello to get in 10 practices before she was eligible to play.
“It’s so good to have her back,” Minehan said of Ossello. “She’s got experience. She’s got confidence. To have Mariah Cooney and Annie Ossello on the front row, that is pretty dynamic. It really opens things up for us.”
That duo combined for 16 kills Saturday. Cooney Killed nine, while Ossello tallied seven.
Ossello also notched a block that put the Maroons up 9-7 as BC pulled away from the Broncs in the tiebreaker. A few minutes later, Ossello hit a spike to make it 14-9 in favor of BC.
“We didn’t play great, but we did some good things,” Minehan said after her team improved to 4-3 in Southwestern A play and 4-5 overall.
Danee Leary, BC’s do-it-all player, led the way with 12 kills and 20 digs. Sadie Harington killed six and blocked three, while Cooney blocked three.
“Sadie Harrington played great,” Minehan said. “Offensively and defensively she did some big things.”
Minehan also praised the play of Leary.
Also for the Maroons, Danika Neumann collected 23 digs, Shannon McLaughlin dished out 21 assists, Taylor Marthaller added 13 assists and 13 digs, and Cassidy McGree collected nine digs.
The Maroons will be busy next week.
They play host to Anaconda Tuesday before heading to Corvallis on Thursday. Those are two teams that beat BC the first time around.
The Maroons will host their Blocktober Classic tournament next Saturday.
Butte Central def. Hamilton 25-17, 20-25, 25-12, 21-25, 15-10
KILLS — Hamilton 39 (Penny Gwynn 25, Jaylee Albert 7), BC 40 (Danee Leary 12, Mariah Cooney 9, Annie Ossello 7, Sadie Harrington 6, Danika Neumann 4, Teresa Piazzola 2). ASSISTS — Hamilton 36 (Val Tayler 26, Makayla Horvath 6), BC 37 (Shannon McLaughlin 21, Taylor Marthaller 13). BLOCKS — Hamilton 3 (Cara Schulz 2), BC 11 (Cooney 4, Harrington 3, Piazzola, Pica, Ossello, Leary). ACES — Hamilton 7 (Tayler 4), BC 4 (McLaughlin 2, Cassidy McGree, Leary). DIGS — Hamilton 79 (Danika Neumann 23, Leary 20, Marthaller 13, McGree 9, McLaughlin 6, Cooney 5, Harrington 2, Sierra Pica).
