Highland setter Kendal Kline prepares to send the ball to a teammate during the Scots’ district semifinal win over Worthington Christian Monday evening.
Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
The Highland volleyball team shrugged off a slow start in their home Division IV district semifinal contest against Worthington Christian to advance by scores of 25-17, 25-14, 25-6 and return to the district finals.
For much of the opening set, the two teams were deadlocked, with neither able to gain an advantage. However, after two straight Warrior points netted them a 15-14 lead, Scot coach Rob Terrill called a time out and his team would then take over the set.
“I called that time out and we responded,” he said. “We were down one at 15-14 and I called that time out and we talked about a defensive adjustment and an offensive adjustment and they went out and made it work. It was 11-2 after that to finish the set.”
After returning to the court, Highland got a defensive stop to tie the set at 15 and then got six straight points by Kameron Stover — in her first match back after missing several due to injury — to open up a 21-15 lead. Then, with the score 23-17, Reagan Maibach served for two points to give her team a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set started out looking like it would be another close one, but with the score tied at 5-5, the Scots got three straight points by Jossalyn Varney. Both Maibach and Kendal Kline then added two each to help Highland open up a 14-8 lead.
Highland’s defense also picked it up in that set. After giving up seven points to Worthington Christian’s serve in the first set, they only surrendered three in the second, which allowed them to maintain a sizable lead. Mia Stanco picked up two points serving to boost the advantage from 17-10 to a nine-point margin and with the score 22-14, Maibach finished the set with three points.
Terrill noted that the injuries to Stover and Larsen Terrill had a silver lining in that other athletes have had to step up to make up for the loss of those two All-Ohioans.
“I think our injuries have made us stronger because we’ve had to have girls step up,” he said. “We’ve had to have girls play a couple different spots. It’s given us more flexibility, more confidence in playing other positions and I think we’ll be stronger if we can just get everyone back and get headed forward.
“Maybe it was a good thing for us to have those injuries,” he continued. “Like, Reagan stepping up tonight. That’s what she had to do without Kammy in there and they both were in double digits in kills (tonight). That’s what we need.”
After one suspenseful set and one that was close in the early going, the third set was a no-doubter. Two points by Makaylee Merckling, one from Stanco and four by Varney got the team out to an 11-4 lead.
Both teams would then trade defensive points to set up a huge Highland run that put it out of reach for the Warriors. Maibach scored nine straight points before being relieved by Faith Gantz, who added three more. Worthington Christian got a defensive point, but by then, the score was 24-6 and one defensive stop by the Scots was enough to end the match.
As the year has gone on, Terrill has used his team’s depth more — something else he believes makes them stronger, especially during a playoff stretch that opens with three matches in a six-day period.
“Riley Walker this year helps out,” he said. “She did a good job on JV, so we pulled her into the varsity line-up and that’s given us more depth with Georgia (Gantz). “And at the very end there, putting Faith in as a senior to serve. She had six aces on Saturday, so put her in there to serve some points and that makes us stronger.”
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
