Olympians brave the Early Bird gauntlet, bag reps for November

Columbus East goes 1–3 at the Southport Early Bird (Volleyball)

The Olympians opened their Saturday flight path by muscling past Silver Creek in a 25–22, 19–25, 15–10 tug-of-war, then ran the state-championship steeplechase—Roncalli, Brownstown Central, Providence—three perennial powers that turn any gym into a pressure cooker.

Even at 1–3 on the day (now 7–9 overall), East stacked building blocks that matter when the bracket banners come out. Libero Krea Martin wore the cape in the back row with 28 digs and four aces, turning the floor into her personal sandbox. Addy Dean swung heavy lumber for 14 kills, Lilah Klei locked the chimney with six blocks, and setter Payten Osborn kept the engine humming with 22 assists while chipping in on serve-receive.

The scouting report: East’s serve pressure landed early (that Silver Creek clincher), while the final three opponents forced low-error sideout volleyball. The O’s left Southport with more than a split—they left with a postseason blueprint: keep Martin’s first-ball touch hot, run Dean/Klei on tempo, and let Osborn keep the hitters in one-on-ones. That’s an Olympian torch worth carrying into conference play.