October 18, 2019 at 3:42 a.m.
Serves up
Indians rack up 20 aces in sectional win
Serves up
FORT RECOVERY — The underdog came out on top in Thursday’s opener.
With their service game, the Indians made sure the same would not be repeated in the nightcap.
Fort Recovery High School’s volleyball team chased the Columbus Grove Bulldogs all over the court with its serves, rolling to a 25-17, 25-4, 25-11 win to take the Division IV sectional title.
“Serving was big. And I think being in the (Midwest Athletic Conference) … we’re going up against the best,” said FRHS coach Chelsea Kahlig. Three other MAC schools — No. 1 St. Henry, No. 2 New Bremen and No. 8 New Knoxville — are ranked in the top 10 in Division IV. Two more finished in the top 20 in the Division IV voting, and Coldwater is ranked eighth in Division III. “I just think we have an advantage as far as that goes.”
The second-seeded Indians (18-5) advance to the Division IV district tournament at Kalida to take on No. 5 seed Lima Central Catholic (20-5) in Monday’s second semifinal. LCC knocked off third-seeded Lincolnview (20-3), which finished 15th in the final Division IV Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll of the season, in four sets in the first sectional title match Thursday.
Monday’s first match, which begins at 5:30 p.m., features top-seeded St. Henry against Crestview.
Fort Recovery kept any thought of a Bulldog upset in check as it jumped out to early leads in each set — 6-1 in the first, 12-0 in the second and 10-1 in the third — and never trailed at any point in the match.
It was the Tribe’s nasty serves that set the tone.
That was especially true in the second set when Kierra Wendel stepped behind the line after an opening Paige Forkamp kill. She immediately recorded an ace, and then, after a kill from Marissa Gaerke, she ripped off five more in a span of six points sandwiched around a futile Columbus Grove timeout.
“The biggest serve problem we were having was their libero,” said Columbus Grove coach Adam Choi, whose team allowed Wendel to serve the ball 27 times. “She’s a terrific spot server. We tried to get the girls to make her hit to a hole and then go get it, but she was just too good to be able to do that.”
But even after she finally knocked a serve wide to the left, not much changed.
The Tribe immediately got the ball back on another Fortkamp kill, and the Bulldogs then had to deal with Chloe Showalter. The senior recorded four aces in the next six points, taking her squad to a 19-1 advantage.
Wendel racked up half of the Indians’ 10 aces on the night, with six of those coming in the second set. Showalter followed with five and was 12-of-12 serving.
“They have a knuckle ball,” said Kahlig. “Especially Chloe’s is so slow but it turns on you pretty quick. …
“Kee’s has a little more speed on it, but she’s great at mixing it up. We can give her anywhere on the court and she’ll get it there.”
Wendel also paced the FRHS defense with 12 digs while Brooke Kahlig followed with 11. Fortkamp had a team-best 12 kills, and Hope Wendel put up 16 assists.
With their service game, the Indians made sure the same would not be repeated in the nightcap.
Fort Recovery High School’s volleyball team chased the Columbus Grove Bulldogs all over the court with its serves, rolling to a 25-17, 25-4, 25-11 win to take the Division IV sectional title.
“Serving was big. And I think being in the (Midwest Athletic Conference) … we’re going up against the best,” said FRHS coach Chelsea Kahlig. Three other MAC schools — No. 1 St. Henry, No. 2 New Bremen and No. 8 New Knoxville — are ranked in the top 10 in Division IV. Two more finished in the top 20 in the Division IV voting, and Coldwater is ranked eighth in Division III. “I just think we have an advantage as far as that goes.”
The second-seeded Indians (18-5) advance to the Division IV district tournament at Kalida to take on No. 5 seed Lima Central Catholic (20-5) in Monday’s second semifinal. LCC knocked off third-seeded Lincolnview (20-3), which finished 15th in the final Division IV Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll of the season, in four sets in the first sectional title match Thursday.
Monday’s first match, which begins at 5:30 p.m., features top-seeded St. Henry against Crestview.
Fort Recovery kept any thought of a Bulldog upset in check as it jumped out to early leads in each set — 6-1 in the first, 12-0 in the second and 10-1 in the third — and never trailed at any point in the match.
It was the Tribe’s nasty serves that set the tone.
That was especially true in the second set when Kierra Wendel stepped behind the line after an opening Paige Forkamp kill. She immediately recorded an ace, and then, after a kill from Marissa Gaerke, she ripped off five more in a span of six points sandwiched around a futile Columbus Grove timeout.
“The biggest serve problem we were having was their libero,” said Columbus Grove coach Adam Choi, whose team allowed Wendel to serve the ball 27 times. “She’s a terrific spot server. We tried to get the girls to make her hit to a hole and then go get it, but she was just too good to be able to do that.”
But even after she finally knocked a serve wide to the left, not much changed.
The Tribe immediately got the ball back on another Fortkamp kill, and the Bulldogs then had to deal with Chloe Showalter. The senior recorded four aces in the next six points, taking her squad to a 19-1 advantage.
Wendel racked up half of the Indians’ 10 aces on the night, with six of those coming in the second set. Showalter followed with five and was 12-of-12 serving.
“They have a knuckle ball,” said Kahlig. “Especially Chloe’s is so slow but it turns on you pretty quick. …
“Kee’s has a little more speed on it, but she’s great at mixing it up. We can give her anywhere on the court and she’ll get it there.”
Wendel also paced the FRHS defense with 12 digs while Brooke Kahlig followed with 11. Fortkamp had a team-best 12 kills, and Hope Wendel put up 16 assists.
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