July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Jay opens with win (08/17/05)
JCHS volleyball
Jay opens with win (08/17/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
WINCHESTER — The Patriots didn’t waste any time initiating their new coach. They nearly gave him a heart attack in his first match.
The Jay County volleyball team controlled the first two games of its opening match against the Winchester Golden Falcons Tuesday, but lost the next two before pulling out a 25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 16-25, 15-10 victory.
The fifth-game victory came on the power of a lead built by senior outside hitter Markie Runyon, and the Patriots also got some big play off the bench from sophomore Brittany O’Dell.
“The first two games we were where I thought we should be,” said coach Larry Hinshaw after his first match on the bench for JCHS. “The tempo was up, the excitement, the energy, our movement ... I don’t know if it was our youth or we just ran out of gas ... it took us a little while to come back from that.
“A little longer than I would have liked,” he added with a slight chuckle.
Each of the first four games was decided in the opening points as whichever team grabbed the early lead went on to victory.
The fifth and deciding game was no different.
Theresa Reinhart led off with an ace for the Patriots, and although Winchester (0-1) took a 2-1 lead the precedent had been set. Jay County (1-0) got the ball back when a Jessica Sells attack went into the net, and Runyon took over.
She notched three straight Jay County points with back-to-back kills followed by a stuff block on Natasha Pelser. The Falcons tried to stop the run with a timeout, but the Patriots notched another point for a 7-2 lead, and went up 8-3 on another Runyon kill.
“Coach knew we couldn’t dig a hole, and we didn’t,” said junior setter Erica Clark, who finished with 31 assists and eight digs. “We started right off from the first serve with Theresa’s ace.”
“We’ve got to get the lead first, then we can take it from there,” added O’Dell.
Winchester managed to pull within two points thanks to a trio of Patriot attack errors, but never got closer and Jessica Muhlenkamp finished off the match with a tip.
Runyon paced the Patriots offensively with 12 kills. She also had six digs.
O’Dell, who stepped in on the front line for Theresa Reinhart, was their other major attacking threat. With starting middle hitter Shelby Rines also spending some time on the bench because of an injury, O’Dell entered the lineup and blasted kills for four of the Patriots’ final seven points of game two.
O’Dell totaled eight kills in all, second on the team, despite being limited to just three games after having played a pair in the junior varsity match.
“Brittany stepped up,” said Clark. “She hit the ball good.”
“I told them all ... the best player goes out there,” added Hinshaw. “... She had her opportunity and she took advantage of it. She showed us, she showed the fans and some of her teammates just a little more of what she can do. We’re looking for exciting things from her ...”
Senior Kelly Sautbine followed Runyon and O’Dell with six kills. Reinhart had team highs of 11 digs and four aces, and Jessica Muhlenkamp added a pair of blocks.
Jay County jumped out to big leads in each of the first two games — 13-1 and 7-1 respectively — and never trailed in either. However, Winchester turned the tables by grabbing 11-5 and 15-5 advantages in each of the next two games and winning both to force the deciding fifth.
Falcon coach Jim Palilonis would have liked a different outcome, but was happy with his team’s effort.
“You’re going to have losses that are actually wins and you’re going to have wins that are going to feel like losses,” he said. “It took them a little while to realize they could play with this team.
“The first two (games), serve receive and just giving them five- or six-point leads makes it tough to come back. It shatters your confidence a little bit. ... Giving them the lead at the start made all the difference in the world.”
Sells led Winchester with eight kills and seven digs, and Jamie Almonrode added eight kills and six digs. Lacie Masters also had eight kills.
Sophomore Natasha Pelser, who, like O’Dell, was limited to three games after playing for the JV squad, added six kills. Alena Pitman totaled 28 assists.
Junior varsity
Before she had such an impact in the varsity match, Brittany O’Dell powered the Patriots to a 25-18, 25-20 victory in junior varsity action against Winchester.
Although Jay County trailed 15-5 in the second game, it pulled even and then went ahead 22-20 thanks to three consecutive O’Dell kills. Stephanie Wellman followed with two aces in the final three points to complete the match.
O’Dell racked up as many kills as the rest of the JV team combined, finishing with eight. She also had one ace, one dig and one block.
Sharon Dirksen notched 12 assists, two aces and two digs, all team highs. Shanda Morningstar and Sara Mescher followed O’Dell with three kills apiece.
Mescher had a pair of aces, and Wellman and Rachel Powell each added two digs.[[In-content Ad]]
The Jay County volleyball team controlled the first two games of its opening match against the Winchester Golden Falcons Tuesday, but lost the next two before pulling out a 25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 16-25, 15-10 victory.
The fifth-game victory came on the power of a lead built by senior outside hitter Markie Runyon, and the Patriots also got some big play off the bench from sophomore Brittany O’Dell.
“The first two games we were where I thought we should be,” said coach Larry Hinshaw after his first match on the bench for JCHS. “The tempo was up, the excitement, the energy, our movement ... I don’t know if it was our youth or we just ran out of gas ... it took us a little while to come back from that.
“A little longer than I would have liked,” he added with a slight chuckle.
Each of the first four games was decided in the opening points as whichever team grabbed the early lead went on to victory.
The fifth and deciding game was no different.
Theresa Reinhart led off with an ace for the Patriots, and although Winchester (0-1) took a 2-1 lead the precedent had been set. Jay County (1-0) got the ball back when a Jessica Sells attack went into the net, and Runyon took over.
She notched three straight Jay County points with back-to-back kills followed by a stuff block on Natasha Pelser. The Falcons tried to stop the run with a timeout, but the Patriots notched another point for a 7-2 lead, and went up 8-3 on another Runyon kill.
“Coach knew we couldn’t dig a hole, and we didn’t,” said junior setter Erica Clark, who finished with 31 assists and eight digs. “We started right off from the first serve with Theresa’s ace.”
“We’ve got to get the lead first, then we can take it from there,” added O’Dell.
Winchester managed to pull within two points thanks to a trio of Patriot attack errors, but never got closer and Jessica Muhlenkamp finished off the match with a tip.
Runyon paced the Patriots offensively with 12 kills. She also had six digs.
O’Dell, who stepped in on the front line for Theresa Reinhart, was their other major attacking threat. With starting middle hitter Shelby Rines also spending some time on the bench because of an injury, O’Dell entered the lineup and blasted kills for four of the Patriots’ final seven points of game two.
O’Dell totaled eight kills in all, second on the team, despite being limited to just three games after having played a pair in the junior varsity match.
“Brittany stepped up,” said Clark. “She hit the ball good.”
“I told them all ... the best player goes out there,” added Hinshaw. “... She had her opportunity and she took advantage of it. She showed us, she showed the fans and some of her teammates just a little more of what she can do. We’re looking for exciting things from her ...”
Senior Kelly Sautbine followed Runyon and O’Dell with six kills. Reinhart had team highs of 11 digs and four aces, and Jessica Muhlenkamp added a pair of blocks.
Jay County jumped out to big leads in each of the first two games — 13-1 and 7-1 respectively — and never trailed in either. However, Winchester turned the tables by grabbing 11-5 and 15-5 advantages in each of the next two games and winning both to force the deciding fifth.
Falcon coach Jim Palilonis would have liked a different outcome, but was happy with his team’s effort.
“You’re going to have losses that are actually wins and you’re going to have wins that are going to feel like losses,” he said. “It took them a little while to realize they could play with this team.
“The first two (games), serve receive and just giving them five- or six-point leads makes it tough to come back. It shatters your confidence a little bit. ... Giving them the lead at the start made all the difference in the world.”
Sells led Winchester with eight kills and seven digs, and Jamie Almonrode added eight kills and six digs. Lacie Masters also had eight kills.
Sophomore Natasha Pelser, who, like O’Dell, was limited to three games after playing for the JV squad, added six kills. Alena Pitman totaled 28 assists.
Junior varsity
Before she had such an impact in the varsity match, Brittany O’Dell powered the Patriots to a 25-18, 25-20 victory in junior varsity action against Winchester.
Although Jay County trailed 15-5 in the second game, it pulled even and then went ahead 22-20 thanks to three consecutive O’Dell kills. Stephanie Wellman followed with two aces in the final three points to complete the match.
O’Dell racked up as many kills as the rest of the JV team combined, finishing with eight. She also had one ace, one dig and one block.
Sharon Dirksen notched 12 assists, two aces and two digs, all team highs. Shanda Morningstar and Sara Mescher followed O’Dell with three kills apiece.
Mescher had a pair of aces, and Wellman and Rachel Powell each added two digs.[[In-content Ad]]
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD