SA picks up 1st win

BERNE - One team was going to have a chance to kick-start its season Monday. The Starfires took advantage of the opportunity.

Both teams entered the match winless, but after losing the opening game host South Adams bounced back to take the next three in a row to knock off the Jay County Patriots 22-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-12.

"This was a big hurdle for us to get over," said SAHS coach Ashley Buckingham, whose team lost its first 12 matches last season and was 0-6 before knocking off Jay County. "We're young and we haven't won a lot in the past few seasons. A lot of these girls are having to learn how to win. And tonight they really did."

Although most of their games had been close, including in their season-opening loss to Class 3A No. 2 Delta, the Patriots had not won one until Monday's opener against the Starfires. However, after taking the one-game lead JCHS (0-5) struggled to find consistency the rest of the way.

"The wheels fell off, the wheels definitely fell off," said Patriot coach Fred Medler. "I mean, we played decently in game one, not overpowering, but decently. ... And then you had a team that came back and still kept playing hard and playing confident ..."

The Starfires confidence visibly built as the match went on, beginning as they held off a late charge from Jay County in the second game. SAHS let a 21-17 lead slip away, but survived to even the match thanks in part to a key kill and block from junior Taylor Farlow.

Two 5-0 runs gave the Starfires an 11-6 lead in the third game, and a 7-0 run put them in control for good. JCHS closed the gap to 23-19, but its run came too late.

The fourth game was more of the same as South Adams ran out to a 6-1 lead. It pushed ahead 17-7 and was in control throughout, getting two kills in the final three points from Karen Bollenbacher to seal the win.

"They controlled the game finally, which was something they had the potential to do even though they didn't believe they could do it," said Buckingham of the final game. "That was the first time they proved to themselves they could control it from start to finish.

"That was really good to see."

Bollenbacher led the Starfires to their first victory with 20 digs and 14 kills. Farlow added 10 kills and six blocks, and Chelsea Bollenbacher also had 10 kills.

Amber Neuenschwander put up 34 assists, and Kysha Cox had 20 digs.

"We were really focusing on our attitude in each point, because in the first six matches we played we tended to lose by just a few points," said Buckingham, whose team lost a pair of three-game matches in Saturday's North Miami Tournament. "A lot of it was our mental attitude at the end of games when it was close. ... Really I think I saw a big difference in the way they played. They played more confidently and more poised in the big moments of the games."

Jay County looked good early against the Starfires, jumping out to a 12-5 lead in the opening game behind two kills from Becky Muhlenkamp and aces by Ashley Langenkamp and Liz Walker. The advantage dwindled to as few as two points, but the Patriots stayed ahead throughout to pick up the win.

Medler said the tone of the match changed when the teams took the court for the second game.

"They came out in game two and decided to be really super aggressive," said Medler of the Starfires. "So they served really hard and we didn't pass it. We didn't respond to it very well."

Kelsey Wood, who paced JCHS with 11 digs and five kills, nearly rallied her team back at the close of the second game only to have the Patriots fall a couple of points short. South Adams took advantage and was mostly in control the rest of the way.

Langenkamp had 13 assists and eight points for the Patriots. Sierra Weatherhead totaled 16 digs, Walker scored nine points and Muhlenkamp had six kills. Maria Murphy and Mariah Hornaday each added five kills.

Medler said his team has played well enough to have a chance to win most of its matches, but has not been able to get over the hump.

"If you look at effort and playing decent, we're 4-1," he said. "That's what I was trying to tell them in the locker room. But we've got to buy a win somewhere ... It's a growth process."

Junior varsity

Jay County used its service game to dominate the Starfires 25-11, 25-6.

Hannah Ainsworth served the Patriots to 11-0 leads in both games as she racked up 19 points and three aces. She also had 14 assists and three digs in the victory.

Danielle Wellman handled the end of the match, serving the final 10 points in a row for JCHS (3-2).

Jen Dirksen added five digs, and Megan May had three digs. Whitni Somers led the Patriots with three kills.

The team also went 2-1 in Saturday's Jay County Invitational, topping Norwell 25-16, 21-25, 15-14 and Northeastern 25-13, 25-14. They lost 25-16, 25-23 to champion Marion.

Ainsworth had 13 assists and 11 points in the win over Norwell, and another 11 assists against Northeastern. Somers totaled 13 kills in the two wins, Tanner Martin had 11 digs against Norwell and Randa Gillespie scored eight points versus Northeastern.

Freshman

Paige Lennartz paced the Patriots as they won their season opener 25-19, 25-8 over South Adams.

Lennartz finished with 10 points, five aces and two digs, all of which were team highs. Jill Dirksen added three kills and two digs.

Audrey Avey scored 10 points, and Hannah Ainsworth put up four assists. Jade Secor finished with two kills, and Shadle Hale had two digs.[[In-content Ad]]