Fort tops 'Cats

COLDWATER, Ohio — The recipe for success for the Indians was fairly simple. As long as they put the ball in play, they were in control.
Fort Recovery was hurt by service errors at times, but also racked up eight aces Wednesday in a 25-14, 25-13, 25-11 sweep of the Spencerville Bearcats in the opening round of the Division IV sectional volleyball tournament at Coldwater High School.
“We’ve played them before, so we kind of knew what we were getting into,” said FRHS coach Kylie Huelsman, whose team defeated Spencerville 25-20, 28-26 at the St. Mary’s Invitational in early September. “I think we were a little more prepared.”
Consecutive service errors by the Indians (7-16) led to an early five-point deficit, but consecutive Ericka Lennartz kills evened the score at 8-8. She later put together a nine-point service run, including three aces, as the Tribe pulled away for its 11-point, game-one win.
Service errors again hurt Fort Recovery early in the second game as it led just 10-9. However, Kayla Kahlig and Amy Link responded with consecutive four- and five-point service runs to once again put the Indians in control.
Link finished her run with an ace, and Kylie Kahlig ended the second game with another ace.
Lennartz led FRHS with her nine service points and three aces, Kayla Kahlig had eight service points and two aces and Kylie Kahlig and Kelsey Fiely also scored eight service points apiece.
“We had a few missed in that first game — the first game was a little rough for us — but they started serving more aggressively and it paid off,” said FRHS coach Kylie Huelsman, who called a timeout to refocus her team after it fell behind 8-3 in the opening game. “I told them, ‘We’ve got to serve aggressive, but we’ve got to get the ball over the net.’ And they did that …”
Kylie Kahlig opened the third game with a kill, and Kayla Kahlig followed with back-to-back aces as the Indians immediately took control. Lennartz racked up five kills in a span of eight points as they built a 15-3 lead, and she also recorded the kill that finished off the sweep.
In addition to her big serving in the opening game, Lennartz also had a team-best seven kills. She was second on the squad with eight digs.
“She’s always my little firecracker. She’s always the one to come out with a big kill right away (after a timeout),” said Huelsman of Lennartz. “She always fights hard for the ball, wants it every time. … I rely on her for a lot.”
Schylar Miller paced Spencerville with five service points, and Shelby Mulholland had four service points and a pair of aces. The loss ended the Bearcats’ season at 4-19.
“It was our worst match all year,” said Spencerville coach Kari Wicker, noting that she was missing senior Morgan Pugh because of an illness. “We just kind of didn’t really come prepared anyways. … They just didn’t fight. We didn’t do anything we learned all year. … We didn’t even run a play tonight.”
Amy Link followed Lennartz with four kills and two blocks for the Indians. Kayla Kahlig had 10 assists and two blocks, Abby Backs came up with nine digs and Kylie Kahlig recorded four blocks.
Fort Recovery advances to play top-ranked St. Henry in the second of two sectional championship matches Saturday at 5 p.m.
“Obviously we struggled versus St. Henry early in the season,” said Huelsman, whose team fell 25-9, 25-22, 25-16 at home to the Redskins in its Midwest Athletic Conference opener. “We have definitely improved since then, so I’m eager to see how we play on Saturday. I think if we just keep our heads on and stay focused, we can make it a match.”[[In-content Ad]]