Columbus East High School

COLUMBUS EAST - On a charged Friday evening in the Orange Pit, the Columbus East Olympian boys volleyball squad erased a two‑set hole to topple their cross‑town rivals, the Columbus North Bulldogs, 3–2. After dropping the opening frames 21–25 and 24–26, East flipped the momentum and closed out the match with convincing 25–19, 25–15, 15–9 set victories. The turnaround began in the third set when East pieced together an 11‑2 run to seize control. Senior Ian Scholl keyed the surge, contributing eight kills, nineteen digs and four aces on the night. Sophomore Alex Duncan ran the offense masterfully, dishing out 29 assists while chipping in six kills, four blocks and ten digs. Junior Alex Wenzler provided a strong presence at the net with seven kills and five rejections. Defensively, the back row was relentless. Trevor Ernst posted a team‑best eighteen digs, with brother Tyler Ernst adding eight digs and an ace. Keaton Stephenson chipped in two digs, Reid Coers two aces and five digs, and Jack Smith six digs. Up front, Justin Lopez added five kills and three blocks while Tyler Ernst added six kills and one block. That balanced effort carried East through the fourth set, where the Olympians raced to a 9–3 lead and never looked back. In the decisive fifth set, East erased an early deficit by stranding North at seven points, then strung together six consecutive points with Smith serving to seal the comeback. With the win, Columbus East improves to 10–13 on the season, snapping a four‑match skid that included three road defeats earlier in the week. The Olympians will look to build on Friday’s resilience as they close out the regular season. Individual East stats: | Category | Player (East) | Total | | -------- | ----------------- | ----: | | Kills | Ian Scholl | 8 | | | Alex Wenzler | 7 | | | Alex Duncan | 6 | | | Tyler Ernst | 6 | | | Justin Lopez | 5 | | | Jack Smith | 2 | | Aces | Ian Scholl | 4 | | | Reid Coers | 2 | | | Tyler Ernst | 1 | | Assists | Alex Duncan | 29 | | Digs | Trevor Ernst | 18 | | | Ian Scholl | 19 | | | Tyler Ernst | 8 | | | Alex Duncan | 10 | | | Jack Smith | 6 | | | Reid Coers | 5 | | | Keaton Stephenson | 2 | | Blocks | Alex Wenzler | 5 | | | Alex Duncan | 4 | | | Justin Lopez | 3 | | | Ian Scholl | 2 | | | Tyler Ernst | 1 |