Squaws spoil senior night

The match was already out of reach.
So one by one, the Patriot seniors were replaced.
First was Kylie Osborne. Then Abby Wendel and Ava Kunkler. Finally, Emilie Walter.
It was the last time the quartet would play on their home court.
The Bellmont Squaws spoiled senior night Thursday, winning the final three sets against the Jay County High School volleyball team, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-13.
“(It’s) unfortunate,” said JCHS coach Fred Medler, whose team fell to 24-4 on the season. Bellmont, meanwhile, moved to 17-12. “Nobody wants to finish their career on their court not playing their best.
“If they had beat us playing at our best it would be one thing. I don’t think they saw our best, but again they had a lot to do with that.”
Bellmont didn’t have a great start to the match, committing passing and hitting errors that Jay County was able to benefit from.
Heading into the second set, the Squaws fixed those offensive blunders, and also created fits for the Patriots’ offense.
“I thought after the first set our defense really stepped up,” said Bellmont coach Craig Krull. “We finally were able to block the ball and get touches, which our defense (was) able to react to allow our offense come faster.
“I thought defensively everybody stepped up.”
Jay County had a difficult time hitting past Bellmont’s block, as the Squaw front line of Tori Miller, Saige Jauregui and Grace Hunter were able to disrupt the Patriot attack. Hunter and Miller both had solo blocks, Jauregui assisted on two blocks and the trio was able to get their hands on a number of swings by Jay County.
“We had some unforced errors in our hitting game,” said Medler, whose team plays in the Union County tournament Saturday and opens sectional play Tuesday at Fort Wayne South Side against defending Class 3A state champion Fort Wayne Concordia. “We continued to hit shot after shot that we knew they had covered. We couldn’t adjust.
“Their block is big, and anytime the block is big and you’re trying to hit over the top of it you’re trying to find holes. Sometimes those holes are so tight that you hit into the block or you miss the block and you hit out of bounds.”
After winning the first set, Jay County had a 4-1 lead early in the second until Bellmont scored six consecutive points. During the run, the Patriots had two attacks sail long and a set error.
Bellmont had a 10-5 lead until Jay County cut the deficit to 12-11. A 4-0 run by the Squaws created separation and the Patriots weren’t able to get closer than three points for the remainder of the set.
The Squaws had streaks of three or more points five times in the third set, building an 18-11 advantage until Kunkler started a four-point Patriot run. Later in the set with Bellmont on top 24-18, Wendel notched two kills and a block, and a Chloe Trissel ace made it 24-22 in favor of Bellmont.
The quick surge by Jay County forced Krull to call a timeout, and Jauregui slammed one of her 10 kills for the final point.
Kunkler finished with 10 kills and Wendel added seven. JCHS junior Abby Barcus led all players with 17. Osborne tallied seven.
Miller led Bellmont with a dozen kills, and Audrey Blackmore also reached double figures with 10.
Bellmont trailed again in the early going of the fourth set, 4-2, but used a 15-4 run to put the match out of reach.
That is when Medler subbed out setter Lizzy Schoenlein, who finished with 30 assists and six digs, for a pair of freshmen, Kailee Denney and Kendall Garringer.
Schoenlein is one of four Patriots — including Katie Lyons, Allie Campbell and Abby Muhlenkamp — who will be at the FFA state soil competition in Columbus this weekend and will miss the Union County tournament.
It also led to the exodus of the four seniors, allowing them their moment to be recognized as they left the court.

Junior varsity
Bellmont won the first set easily, 25-17.
It fought off Jay County in the second.
The Patriots trailed 20-10 in the second set and went on a 9-3 run to get within four points, but did not get any closer in a 25-17, 25-19 loss to the Squaws.
Olivia Kunkler and Audrey Shreve both had four kills to lead the Patriots, who end their season at 16-5. Sarah Walter had three kills and three aces to go with her team-high eight digs and eight service points.
Hannah Ault also added two kills. Denney tallied two digs and nine assists.