Columbus East High School

The Columbus East boys volleyball team continued its demanding stretch away from home Thursday night, facing one of the state’s top programs in the fifth-ranked Franklin Central Flashes. Playing their fourth consecutive road match, the Olympians ran into a sharp and disciplined Flashes squad, falling in three sets, 11-25, 13-25, 11-25. Despite the final scoreline, Columbus East showed resilience against elite competition, continuing to gain valuable experience during a challenging early-season schedule. Offensively, the Olympians were led by Johnathon Sylva and Josiah Shelton, who each recorded two kills. Contributions also came from Patrick Strickland, Trevor Ernst, Kash Coers, David Sylva, and Eli Shafer, each adding a kill. Setting duties were handled primarily by Kash Coers, who dished out a team-high seven assists, while Jax Branaman added two assists to help facilitate the offense. From the service line, Coers and Ernst each delivered an ace, providing brief sparks for the Olympians. At the net, Strickland led the defensive effort with two blocks, while David Sylva added another. In the back row, Ernst paced the team with four digs, followed by Branaman with three. Shelton, Aiden Sorrells, and David Sylva each contributed multiple digs as East worked to slow down Franklin Central’s attack. Columbus East will take a few days of practice and look to regroup as the road stretch continues next Thursday, April 16, when the Olympians travel to Madison to take on the Cubs. Match start time: 6 p.m. Ads do not influence the answers you get from ChatGPT. Your chats stay private. Learn about ads and personalization