July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Bruins vanquished (09/14/07)
JCHS volleyball
Bruins vanquished (09/14/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
Had Thursday's match gone to a fifth game, the Patriots would have been short-handed. They didn't let that become an issue.
After dropping the opening game to the Blackford Bruins, Jay County High School's volleyball team bounced back to win the next three for a 20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22 victory.
JCHS coach Fred Medler has been pulling several junior varsity players - namely Kelsey Wood and Ashley Langenkamp - to the varsity level, trying to find the right mix. Having already used each of them in two JV games and in games two and three of the varsity match - players are limited to five games per night - the Patriots were left with a choice to make.
They could either use that duo again in game-four, or hold them out for a possible fifth.
"The seniors all said, "We're winning it here in the fourth,'" said Medler. "And that's what they did. They stepped up ..."
Jay County took control of that fourth game behind senior Shelby Rines along with junior Sarah Westgerdes and Wood, a sophomore.
After Wood hit her first attack of the game into the net, she and Westgerdes each contributed a pair of kills as the Patriots (11-8) roared out to a 10-3 lead. Rines blasted three kills during the run, including two in a row to kick off a six-point serving run by classmate Stephanie Wellman.
The Bruins (4-11) rallied back to within two points on a Kristin Lada ace at 18-16. Jay County responded with a four-point run, but Blackford followed with five in a row - the first two on Patriot attack errors and the last three by way of aces by Kerbi Elwood - to close to within 22-21.
However, the home team never relinquished the lead and finished off the match when a Sarah Mescher tip found the floor in the middle of a bunch of diving Bruins.
"Once again, we seem to be in control at times and then we just make mistakes that we shouldn't make ... and we let them have a run of three or four points and they're right back in the match," said Medler. "It becomes really interesting. But they're fun games to watch I guess.
"We've been playing around with the lineup trying to get things corrected that we're making mistakes on, trying to get a little better at spots. And it's coming. We just haven't had enough time to work on it yet."
After giving up six of the final seven points following a tie at 19 to lose the first game, Jay County put together solid runs at the end of the second and third.
After five straight points pulled Blackford to within 18-17 in game two, the Patriots closed with a 7-3 run with Rines finishing off the victory. Their game-three push was even more pronounced as they racked up a 10-2 run, including five straight points, to bounce back from a 19-15 deficit.
"(When we play well) it's because we don't press, we relax and we just pursue the ball," said Medler. "We have double-gap coverage, which is what we're supposed to have always, instead of when the ball is in the gap we lean back away from it thinking the other person is going to get it."
He said his team just needs to be more consistent with those things, communicate more consistently and be more accurate with their passes.
"And then we're just trying to clean up our offense," Medler said, "so that when we don't get good sets, we can still make it tough on the other team instead of just giving them the ball. So all of that has to click."
Rines made the most of the passes that came her way Thursday as she blasted a match-high 17 kills. She was also second on the squad with 16 digs.
Westgerdes had nine kills and three blocks, Sharon Dirksen put up 29 assists and Chelsea Grady notched 19 digs. Mescher scored 13 points, and Wellman added 11.
Elwood carried the Bruins with 17 digs, 10 kills, four aces, and three blocks - all team highs - but it was not enough.
"She's our go-to player, but we're so predictable. We were going to her every time, and then it wasn't working," said Blackford coach Melissa Overpeck. "So what we had to do was spread our offense out a little bit better and set across the net.
"Our girls are not playing to their potential, and that's pretty disappointing when we've worked so hard all season, all summer, all preseason. ... We've had a long run of matches recently and it's hard to bounce back."
Junior varsity
The Patriots rallied in the opening game and held the momentum throughout the second for a 25-24, 25-7 victory over Blackford.
Jay County trailed 24-21 in the opening game, but back-to-back kills from Ashley Franklin and Taylor Burris closed the gap to one point. Burris tied the game with a stuff block on Brooke Shell, and Kelsey Wood put away the final point to cap a 4-0 Patriot run to steal the game.
The Bruins were never close in game two as JCHS rolled out to a 14-7 lead. The Patriots then scored 11 more consecutive points following a Blackford timeout to finish off the match.
Wood racked up team highs in points (17), aces (eight), digs (six) and kills (five) for Jay County. Liz Walker had 13 assists and four digs, and Amy Alig finished with five kills and four digs.[[In-content Ad]]
After dropping the opening game to the Blackford Bruins, Jay County High School's volleyball team bounced back to win the next three for a 20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22 victory.
JCHS coach Fred Medler has been pulling several junior varsity players - namely Kelsey Wood and Ashley Langenkamp - to the varsity level, trying to find the right mix. Having already used each of them in two JV games and in games two and three of the varsity match - players are limited to five games per night - the Patriots were left with a choice to make.
They could either use that duo again in game-four, or hold them out for a possible fifth.
"The seniors all said, "We're winning it here in the fourth,'" said Medler. "And that's what they did. They stepped up ..."
Jay County took control of that fourth game behind senior Shelby Rines along with junior Sarah Westgerdes and Wood, a sophomore.
After Wood hit her first attack of the game into the net, she and Westgerdes each contributed a pair of kills as the Patriots (11-8) roared out to a 10-3 lead. Rines blasted three kills during the run, including two in a row to kick off a six-point serving run by classmate Stephanie Wellman.
The Bruins (4-11) rallied back to within two points on a Kristin Lada ace at 18-16. Jay County responded with a four-point run, but Blackford followed with five in a row - the first two on Patriot attack errors and the last three by way of aces by Kerbi Elwood - to close to within 22-21.
However, the home team never relinquished the lead and finished off the match when a Sarah Mescher tip found the floor in the middle of a bunch of diving Bruins.
"Once again, we seem to be in control at times and then we just make mistakes that we shouldn't make ... and we let them have a run of three or four points and they're right back in the match," said Medler. "It becomes really interesting. But they're fun games to watch I guess.
"We've been playing around with the lineup trying to get things corrected that we're making mistakes on, trying to get a little better at spots. And it's coming. We just haven't had enough time to work on it yet."
After giving up six of the final seven points following a tie at 19 to lose the first game, Jay County put together solid runs at the end of the second and third.
After five straight points pulled Blackford to within 18-17 in game two, the Patriots closed with a 7-3 run with Rines finishing off the victory. Their game-three push was even more pronounced as they racked up a 10-2 run, including five straight points, to bounce back from a 19-15 deficit.
"(When we play well) it's because we don't press, we relax and we just pursue the ball," said Medler. "We have double-gap coverage, which is what we're supposed to have always, instead of when the ball is in the gap we lean back away from it thinking the other person is going to get it."
He said his team just needs to be more consistent with those things, communicate more consistently and be more accurate with their passes.
"And then we're just trying to clean up our offense," Medler said, "so that when we don't get good sets, we can still make it tough on the other team instead of just giving them the ball. So all of that has to click."
Rines made the most of the passes that came her way Thursday as she blasted a match-high 17 kills. She was also second on the squad with 16 digs.
Westgerdes had nine kills and three blocks, Sharon Dirksen put up 29 assists and Chelsea Grady notched 19 digs. Mescher scored 13 points, and Wellman added 11.
Elwood carried the Bruins with 17 digs, 10 kills, four aces, and three blocks - all team highs - but it was not enough.
"She's our go-to player, but we're so predictable. We were going to her every time, and then it wasn't working," said Blackford coach Melissa Overpeck. "So what we had to do was spread our offense out a little bit better and set across the net.
"Our girls are not playing to their potential, and that's pretty disappointing when we've worked so hard all season, all summer, all preseason. ... We've had a long run of matches recently and it's hard to bounce back."
Junior varsity
The Patriots rallied in the opening game and held the momentum throughout the second for a 25-24, 25-7 victory over Blackford.
Jay County trailed 24-21 in the opening game, but back-to-back kills from Ashley Franklin and Taylor Burris closed the gap to one point. Burris tied the game with a stuff block on Brooke Shell, and Kelsey Wood put away the final point to cap a 4-0 Patriot run to steal the game.
The Bruins were never close in game two as JCHS rolled out to a 14-7 lead. The Patriots then scored 11 more consecutive points following a Blackford timeout to finish off the match.
Wood racked up team highs in points (17), aces (eight), digs (six) and kills (five) for Jay County. Liz Walker had 13 assists and four digs, and Amy Alig finished with five kills and four digs.[[In-content Ad]]
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