No. 1 Delta tops Pats (08/22/03)

PORTLAND — In its first match of the season, Delta got a nice test from the Patriots. And in turn, Jay County found out how far it has to go to be able to challenge the two-time defending state champions in this year’s sectional at the Eagles’ Nest.

The two-time defending state champion Class 3A No. 1 Delta Eagles defeated Jay County Thursday 21-13, 21-11, 21-10.

“I’m not disappointed,” said Jay County coach Fred Medler, pointing to Delta’s overall team speed as the difference in the match. “We just aren’t ready to accept that pace yet.”

Delta relied on its speed and defense to keep the Patriots off the board. It almost has to, with just one player on the squad — 6-foot-one-inch McKenzie Mauck — standing taller than five-foot-eight.

“We don’t have a ton of size out there, so we have to keep balls off the floor some way,” said first-year Eagle coach Biff Wilson. “They’re athletic, and that’s what’s great about them. They just get around the court.”

The defense was what allowed Delta (1-0) to win each of Thursday’s three games by eight or more points. They didn’t pull away quickly in either of the first two, but limited Jay County’s chances of getting on the scoreboard.

The Patriots (1-1) put together runs of three points in a row just three times in the entire match. They never scored more than that in a single run.

Delta did it at least three times in each game.

Jay County was close, trailing 8-5 in game one before the Eagles scored six of the next seven points, two on back-to-back aces by Amanda Goebel. The Patriots cut the lead to five points, but never got closer as Delta took a 21-13 win.

The second game had Delta leading by the same 8-5 score before pulling away with points on three Jay County mishaps and an ace from Kristy Cox.

The Patriots again cut the lead, pulling to within 13-9 before Delta scored five points in a row and rolled to the 21-11 win.

The Eagles took advantage of a host of Jay County errors midway through the third game to run off nine points in a row as it cruised to a 21-10 victory to finish off the contest.

Cox paced Delta with seven kills, and Kim Ballinger was next with six. Bullock assisted on 15 of those put-aways, and Mauck notched four blocks.

“A lot of these matches — especially with the rally scoring — they start out close and stay close,” said Wilson, who added that he was impressed with the Patriot squad. “At some point, the team with a little edge starts to pull away.”

Jay County will hope to close that gap by sectional time, and will need to give Sara Hough a little more help to get the job done. The senior carried the Patriots in attacking (six kills) and defense (30 digs).

Sarah Ainsworth was next in both categories with five kills — mostly of the quick tip variety — and eight digs. She also added seven assists.

Becki Beeler matched her with eight digs, and notched eight assists.

“I thought we got ‘em a few times,” said Medler, “but they’re going to get at most balls. They’re going to get it up and get it back to you.

“They got a couple big runs against us. Regrouping the way we’ve had to regroup from last year, these kids have adjusted really well. We’re not going to be a pushover team.

“We challenged them. This was a good workout for Delta to see what they have too.”

The Patriots will host the Jay County Invitational Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.[[In-content Ad]]