Whitko Falls To South Adams In Volleyball Regional
October 26, 2016 at 4:15 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
In a Class 2A volleyball regional at South Adams, the host Starfires made good on their serve opportunities, and it led them to a convincing 25-10, 25-21, 25-17 win over the Lady Wildcats.
It was South Adams’ fourth regional appearance in school history and its first championship.
Whitko was playing in the regional for the first time.
“I would say South Adams has a lot of girls that can hit the ball, but they also have a lot of girls who can serve the ball,” said Howard, whose team beat Central Noble Saturday night to win the program’s first sectional title. “They did their damage from the service line tonight. We’ve not seen a team that can bring six servers at you like that. They’re in the air, and they truly are attacking you from the service line.
“And that was our problem tonight ... we just struggled to serve-receive. We’ve not seen that pace. We can’t replicate that in practice, and the teams on our schedule, nobody has brought that at us all season. There’s a reason they’re going to the semistate this year.”
Whitko finished the season with a 25-11 record.
South Adams, now 26-8, extended its win streak to six matches and advanced to Saturday’s Bremen Semistate, where it will play Rochester (31-5). Wapahani and Hammond Bishop Noll are on the other side of the semistate bracket.
Tuesday’s win over Whitko gave the Starfires sweeps in their last five matches and allowed them to hoist the regional trophy for the first time.
“This was our second year in a row playing in the regional ... last year we came in and it was one of those things where we weren’t quite ready. And this year I felt like the girls had some confidence, and maybe it helped,” said South Adams coach Ashley Buckingham. “It always helps being at home. That was a nice comfort level, but honestly, the Whitko girls put up a fight.
“Those first eight or nine points of the match were huge ... for both teams. I knew this was going to be a match, and really, the Whitko girls did a great job. No. 22 (Kaity Reed) is a great player. She does a great job leading her team.”
In the first nine points of the match there were four ties and three lead changes.
South Adams, however, took over from there. The Starfires scored 16 of the match’s next 17 points to lead 20-5.
In the second game, Whitko trailed 20-15 but closed the gap to 21-20 before South Adams sealed the deal with three consecutive kills by 6-foot-2 left-handed hitter Madelyn Wurster.
In the final game, the Lady Wildcats cut South Adams’ lead to 14-9, but the Starfires scored the next eight points en route to the win.
Momentum is key in volleyball, and South Adams had it when it needed Tuesday.
“That is the game of volleyball,” Buckingham said when asked how critical momentum is. “The timeout I called in the second game when they were making a run, I told the girls ‘don’t stress about it, this is the game of volleyball. Runs happen, just go out there and turn it around and come back with a run of your own.’”
Wurster led South Adams in kills with 11, while senior Morgan Alberson and junior Addie Wanner had 10 each.
Junior Julia Grabau tallied 31 assists in the win, while senior Caralie Farlow led the team in digs with 17.
For Whitko, senior Haley Yohe had 25 assists and eight digs, while classmates Kaity Reed and Lydnsey Sapp had three blocks each. Reed led in digs with 10.
It wasn’t the outcome Whitko was looking for Tuesday, but winning the program’s first sectional was a big step for the Lady Wildcats.
“We talked about that with the girls in the locker room. We can be disappointed, but the only thing to be disappointed about is, losing is always is disappointing but if you felt like you didn’t give your best effort, that would be the only thing you have to be disappointed about,” said Howard.
“These girls have achieved and set a standard. You’ve let kids experience something great with you, for the seniors. That’s the direction we want to go, what South Adams is doing ... getting kids playing more volleyball. Getting them used to it and expecting to be successful, not just hoping to get some luck every once in a while.”
SOUTH ADAMS 3, WHITKO 0
Wh. 10 21 17
SA 25 25 25
Whitko leaders: Aces – Andrea Snavely 3, Haley Howard 2; Assists – Haley Yohe 25; Blocks – Lyndsey Rapp 3, Kaity Reed 3; Digs – Reed 10, Yohe 8
South Adams: Kills – Madelyn Wurster 11, Morgan Alberson 10, Addie Wanner 10; Assists – Julia Grabau 31; Digs – Carlie Farlow 17, Shania Neal 9
Records: Whitko 25-11, South Adams 26-8
In a Class 2A volleyball regional at South Adams, the host Starfires made good on their serve opportunities, and it led them to a convincing 25-10, 25-21, 25-17 win over the Lady Wildcats.
It was South Adams’ fourth regional appearance in school history and its first championship.
Whitko was playing in the regional for the first time.
“I would say South Adams has a lot of girls that can hit the ball, but they also have a lot of girls who can serve the ball,” said Howard, whose team beat Central Noble Saturday night to win the program’s first sectional title. “They did their damage from the service line tonight. We’ve not seen a team that can bring six servers at you like that. They’re in the air, and they truly are attacking you from the service line.
“And that was our problem tonight ... we just struggled to serve-receive. We’ve not seen that pace. We can’t replicate that in practice, and the teams on our schedule, nobody has brought that at us all season. There’s a reason they’re going to the semistate this year.”
Whitko finished the season with a 25-11 record.
South Adams, now 26-8, extended its win streak to six matches and advanced to Saturday’s Bremen Semistate, where it will play Rochester (31-5). Wapahani and Hammond Bishop Noll are on the other side of the semistate bracket.
Tuesday’s win over Whitko gave the Starfires sweeps in their last five matches and allowed them to hoist the regional trophy for the first time.
“This was our second year in a row playing in the regional ... last year we came in and it was one of those things where we weren’t quite ready. And this year I felt like the girls had some confidence, and maybe it helped,” said South Adams coach Ashley Buckingham. “It always helps being at home. That was a nice comfort level, but honestly, the Whitko girls put up a fight.
“Those first eight or nine points of the match were huge ... for both teams. I knew this was going to be a match, and really, the Whitko girls did a great job. No. 22 (Kaity Reed) is a great player. She does a great job leading her team.”
In the first nine points of the match there were four ties and three lead changes.
South Adams, however, took over from there. The Starfires scored 16 of the match’s next 17 points to lead 20-5.
In the second game, Whitko trailed 20-15 but closed the gap to 21-20 before South Adams sealed the deal with three consecutive kills by 6-foot-2 left-handed hitter Madelyn Wurster.
In the final game, the Lady Wildcats cut South Adams’ lead to 14-9, but the Starfires scored the next eight points en route to the win.
Momentum is key in volleyball, and South Adams had it when it needed Tuesday.
“That is the game of volleyball,” Buckingham said when asked how critical momentum is. “The timeout I called in the second game when they were making a run, I told the girls ‘don’t stress about it, this is the game of volleyball. Runs happen, just go out there and turn it around and come back with a run of your own.’”
Wurster led South Adams in kills with 11, while senior Morgan Alberson and junior Addie Wanner had 10 each.
Junior Julia Grabau tallied 31 assists in the win, while senior Caralie Farlow led the team in digs with 17.
For Whitko, senior Haley Yohe had 25 assists and eight digs, while classmates Kaity Reed and Lydnsey Sapp had three blocks each. Reed led in digs with 10.
It wasn’t the outcome Whitko was looking for Tuesday, but winning the program’s first sectional was a big step for the Lady Wildcats.
“We talked about that with the girls in the locker room. We can be disappointed, but the only thing to be disappointed about is, losing is always is disappointing but if you felt like you didn’t give your best effort, that would be the only thing you have to be disappointed about,” said Howard.
“These girls have achieved and set a standard. You’ve let kids experience something great with you, for the seniors. That’s the direction we want to go, what South Adams is doing ... getting kids playing more volleyball. Getting them used to it and expecting to be successful, not just hoping to get some luck every once in a while.”
SOUTH ADAMS 3, WHITKO 0
Wh. 10 21 17
SA 25 25 25
Whitko leaders: Aces – Andrea Snavely 3, Haley Howard 2; Assists – Haley Yohe 25; Blocks – Lyndsey Rapp 3, Kaity Reed 3; Digs – Reed 10, Yohe 8
South Adams: Kills – Madelyn Wurster 11, Morgan Alberson 10, Addie Wanner 10; Assists – Julia Grabau 31; Digs – Carlie Farlow 17, Shania Neal 9
Records: Whitko 25-11, South Adams 26-8
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