THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2006
Wildcats Visualize Victory, Upset Hersey; Maine West Moves To 5-1 In Conference
By BOBBY CHILVER
Correspondent
The Wheeling girls varsity volleyball team knew its would have to play nearly perfect to knock off Hersey on Tuesday night.
Hersey was riding a 37 game win streak in the MSL East, not having lost in conference since 2003. Even the seniors were not in high school the last time Wheeling beat Hersey. That all changed Tuesday as Wheeling pulled off the upset 22-25, 25-17, 25-21.
Natalie Chery lead the Wheeling attack with a team leading 13 kills and 18 digs. Setter Kate Flanagan was nearly perfect on the night, converting on 94 of 95 set opportunities and adding in 36 assists, a career high.
"Kate mixed it up and really used all of her hitters," Wheeling Coach Rita Runyard said. "It took the whole team today."
Caroline Gajzler added nine kills and both Nikki Preston and Katie Speidel had six kills. Katie Speidel was a perfect 15-15 on serves and 27-27 on serve receptions.
"We really worked hard on keeping our heads up and staying focused throughout the match," Rita Runyard said. "The girls were bound and determined to win."
The Wheeling girls were tested early as Hersey took game one of the match and looked very much on their game.
Game two remained a tight battle, being tied up half way through at 12-12. Wheeling ran off a 5-1 run from there, led by Speidel's four straight service points, as the Wildcats took the lead and never looked back.
They took the game two win 25-17 and led through most of game three. With a 24-17 lead, the upset was nearly complete, but Hersey would not go down easy. A 4-0 run put the game at 24-21 and forced Wheeling to call a time-out to re-group.
"I told them to just finish," Runyard said. "Just put the ball down anywhere. To close their eyes and see it, visualize it."
The 'Cats probably didn't visualize the net penalty on Hersey that gave them the win 25-21 on the next point, but they'll take it.
"Wheeling played a great match," Hersey Coach Nancy Lill said. "We didn't cover the soft offense and they took advantage."
Hersey did play without top hitter Lauren Dembkowki who was out with an ankle sprain. Annie Fesl led the Huskie attack with nine kills and 26 assists.
The Huskies drop to 7-1 in conference (19-3 overall), but could have still clinched the MSL East title with a win over Prospect yesterday (Thursday). The win moved Wheeling to 5-3 in conference and 20-6 overall.
In other volleyball action this week:
* The Maine West girls volleyball team moved their conference record to 5-1 (10-10 overall) by defeating Deerfield on Tuesday night, 25-20, 25-18.
Dana Gustafson led the way for the Warriors with six kills, nine service points, three for service aces, and a block. Alise Tupuritis added seven kills and Mary Kusner recorded five kills. Setter Michelle Obillo played strong, making 23 assists in the two game match.
Deerfield took early leads in both matches but Maine West was able to fight back.
"Deerfield ran a good slide," Warrior Coach Randy Tiller said. "We took some time adjusting to it."
Maine West went down seven points early in game one but came back with the help of Mark Kusner's five straight service points. Sarah Dister added four straight service points later in the game to give the Warriors the 25-10 win.
Deerfield took a five point lead early in game five but Maine West was able to fight back again for the 25-18 win.
"Our block was doing the job, forcing Deerfield hitting errors" Tiller said. "They played as a team. I'm very proud of them."