CULVER – The action was far from a masterpiece. The outcome, however, was beautiful for Triton High School's varsity volleyball team. In first-round action of the Class 1A Culver Community Sectional, the Lady Trojans overcame slow starts in the first and second games as they beat the Oregon-Davis Lady Bobcats 25-15, 25-21 and 25-15 Tuesday night. The teams were tied 12-12 in the first set before Triton went on a run. In the second set, the Lady Trojans trailed 17-15 before pulling out the win and putting the Lady Bobcats on the brink of elimination. And in the third set of the best-of-five match, Triton held a 10-7 advantage before stringing a number of points together and advancing to Saturday's 11 a.m. semifinal match against South Central. “We had a slow start, the setter-hitter connection was really off,” said Triton coach Samantha Wilsey. “It was hard for us to get going. We didn't have school today, so the kids were resting on the couch all day, and it showed.” During timeouts in the first two sets, when the score was close, Wilsey told her players they looked tired and didn't have any momentum going. The Lady Trojans responded each time, as they snapped Oregon-Davis’ nine-match win streak and ended the Lady Bobcats’ season with a 20-10 record. Triton, which beat Oregon-Davis in three straight sets during a regular season match in Bourbon on Aug. 20, extended its win streak to five matches and improved to 18-13 overall. “In those timeouts, I told them ‘you guys are dead, there's absolutely no momentum going, you've lost your fire, you need to pick it up and play the way I know you guys can play,’” said Wilsey. “They just weren't very aggressive tonight.” One of the bright spots for Triton was the play of senior Jaela Meister. Meister, who scored the decisive point in both the first and third sets with kills, led the Lady Trojans with 17 kills, six digs and a service ace. “So much,” said Wilsey when asked what Meister means to the team. “She's the go-to (player). She's smart, she reads the floor well. She has so many options as an attacker, and she'll put the ball away when you need her to.” Sophomore Nicole Sechrist added 11 kills, three digs and an ace for the Lady Trojans, who are trying to win their second consecutive sectional title and the program’s seventh overall. Sophomores Quinn Downing and Hannah Wanemacher chipped in with 11 and eight digs, respectively. Action in the Culver Community Sectional will resume Thursday at 6 p.m. when LaCrosse plays the host Lady Cavaliers, followed by North Miami and Argos. Triton and South Central will play in the first semifinal Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by a match featuring Thursday’s winners. The sectional final is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday, according to the IHSAA website.
TRITON DEF. OREGON-DAVIS 25-15, 25-21, 25-15 (Triton stats) Kills – Jaela Meister 17, Nicole Sechrist 11, Brooklyn Bitting 6, Courtney Jennings 5; Aces – Emma Ross 1, Wanemacher 1, Meister 1, Sechrist 1; Digs – Quinn Downing 11, Wanemacher 8, Meister 6, Sechrist 3; Blocks – Bitting 3, Wanemacher 1, Jennings 1 Records: Triton 18-13, Oregon-Davis 20-10
