Spikers’ success should continue

Seniors
Both Fort Recovery and South Adams will lose a trio of seniors who each had their own roles within the squads.
For the Tribe, those three are Devin Post, Audra Metzger and Carly Link. While not the main offensive threat, Post was a solid complementary piece. She totaled 122 kills, which was fourth on the team. Metzger, was primarily a defensive specialist, totaling 139 digs. She also had a serving percentage of 90.9, which was fourth on the team among players with more than 100 attempts. Link served more as a role player, coming in to give breaks to other front-row players. She played in 23 of the Tribe’s 85 sets, totaling five kills, nine blocks and eight digs.
Morgan Alberson tallied the most kills out of her Starfire classmates, racking up 188 to finish third on the team. She was also one of three players to record 300 or more digs. Caralie Farlow’s 148 kills ranked fourth for SAHS, and she posted a team-high serving percentage of 92.3 percent with 43 aces. Emma Rosswurm played mostly a defensive role, totaling 125 digs.
Those six players will be greatly missed going forward, but in the last two years they helped lay groundwork for successful teams in Fort Recovery and Berne.

Offense
The Indians and Starfires were both led offensively by juniors.
Carley Stone, the Tribe’s only first team All-MAC selection, totaled 306 kills, nearly twice as many as freshman Paige Jutte, who was second with 158. Stone also had a stable of other hitters around her to take the pressure off if need be. Cassy Martin was third on the squad with 156 kills. Stone, Jutte and Martin, along with the height of freshmen Olivia Patch and Val Muhlenkamp, should make an even stronger offense in 2017.
Towers Madi Wurster and Addie Wanner were first and second respectively in kills for South Adams. Wurster had 382 kills, while Wanner racked up 195. Jade Farlow, another junior, was fifth on the squad with 112 kills. As a senior, she’ll be tasked with helping to make up for Alberson’s kill total.
Both teams have a young nucleus offensively, and with a year to get stronger the Indians and Starfires should once again be difficult to slow down when on the attack.

The next wave
Fort Recovery and South Adams both had feeder programs that saw success this year, proving the possibility of strong teams when they reach the next level.
The Tribe’s seventh grade squad was 16-3 and finished second in the MAC while the eighth graders were 17-3 and third in conference play. Additionally, the FRHS junior varsity team was 20-2.
South Adams’ eighth grade team finished its year 14-4 while finishing as the runner-up in the ACAC regular-season standings as well as the conference tournament. The seventh graders were 13-6 and were part of a three-way tie for the regular-season ACAC championship. They also finished as the runner-up in the conference tournament.
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In the last two seasons, the Indians and Starfires saw success that they hadn’t experienced in a while.
Each team has a solid core of returning players, and with a group of youngsters at the lower levels who also played well, it would come as no surprise to see the Indians and Starfires contending for sectional championships for years to come.