Spartans eliminate JC

FORT WAYNE - A hot start had the Patriots a couple of games away from playing for a sectional championship. They just couldn't quite keep the momentum.

After winning the opening game of its sectional semifinal match Saturday at Fort Wayne North Side, the Jay County High School volleyball team dropped the next three in a row to fall 21-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-17 to the Homestead Spartans.

The loss finished the JCHS season with a 5-28 record.

"This whole year has been a real growth process for these girls," said Patriot coach Fred Medler. "(In a match like today's) there have been times this year where would just would have been blown out of the gym. But the kids battled hard all day long.

"It's just been a growth experience. They showed a lot of heart."

Behind strong net play from senior Kelsey Wood (15 kills) and tough serving by sophomores Maria Murphy (10 points, four aces) and Mariah Hornaday (three aces), the Patriots took the opening game from Homestead.

But the Spartans bounced back, running out to an early nine-point lead in the second game.

The teams were tied late in game three, but Homestead pulled within a point of the victory when a Stephanie Scribner tip found the middle of the court. Murphy came up with a block against Scribner to pull Jay County to within 24-23, but a Patriot error on the next point ended the game.

With the season on the line, JCHS took a 5-2 lead in game four before the Spartans unleashed a 7-1 run to grab the lead. The Patriots pulled even again and edged ahead 17-16 before Homestead ran away with the match.

The Spartans, who went on to lose to Huntington North in the championship match, ran off nine straight points, with Erika Berghoff (four blocks) and Bekah Sotir each notching of kills during the run.

Along with her team-high 15 kills, Wood also led the Patriots with 18 digs. Hornaday had 13 kills and three blocks, and Ashley Langenkamp totaled 20 assists and 10 kills.

Lacey Randolph had 13 digs, and Liz Walker scored eight points.

"We have a group of kids that have become a team in this last couple weeks," said Medler. "Early in the year we weren't, but in these last couple of weeks we played really well. ...

"I think they just learned how to play hard. They gave good effort. As a coach, that's all you can ask for."

Rylie Pearson led Homestead with eight kills. Taylor Chin had 20 digs, and Elena Schmidt put up 16 assists.[[In-content Ad]]