Published: October 05, 2008 12:03 am            

VOLLEYBALL: Third time's a charm for Highlanders

NEW ALBANY — They always say that the third time is the charm, but how true the old adage is depends on which side of the net you’re on.

On Saturday afternoon, the Floyd Central volleyball team topped New Albany for the third time this season, staving off a Bulldog comeback in Game 1 and cruising in Game 2 in the finals of the Hoosier Hills Conference championships at The Doghouse, 25-23, 25-13.

Of the three meetings between two of the state’s top-10 ranked teams, two of them have been for tournament titles on New Albany’s home court. Class 4A No. 5 Floyd took the annual Falls Cities Invitational two weeks ago before adding more hardware to its trophy case on Saturday.

“I think all three times we’ve played, the first game ended up 25-23,” said Highlander coach Bart Powell. “We’ve definitely gotten better defensively and that’s what we were worried about. We will continue to focus on defense in the next two weeks before sectionals.”

Class 4A No. 7 New Albany took the harder road to the championship match, having to get past the HHC’s other top-10 team — 4A No. 8 Columbus East — in its first match of the morning.

That likely led to the Bulldogs’ slow start against Floyd, as the Highlanders built a five-point cushion early in Game 1 and appeared to be on the verge of running New Albany out of its own gym in the abbreviated best-of-three matchup.

But New Albany, like in the previous meetings with its county rival, roared back behind the offense of stars like Brandi Waller, who spiked 35 kills and eight blocks on the day. The Bulldogs tied the score at 23, but could not get the lead before falling 25-23.

Game 2 was never in doubt, as Floyd jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Waller struck twice to make it 6-4, but Katy Schad and Ashlie Haworth each delivered a kill and then combined for a block to make it 9-4.

The Bulldogs scored the next two, but watched as Kirsten Kemppainen led a 5-1 Highlander run. Following a New Albany timeout, Schad and Jennifer Smith keyed yet another Floyd scoring burst and the lead ballooned to as much as 19-9. The 12-point final margin represented the Highlanders’ largest lead of the match.

“I’m pleased with the day we had,” said New Albany coach John Breeding. “We were in a tough pool with Columbus East and Seymour. We were just pleased to get into the championship game, because we had to win a lot of games to get there.”

Indeed, its opening match took the Bulldogs to the limit. Behind the offense of Waller and Shelby Hoskins, along with the defense of Sarah Mathews, New Albany ended up winning a narrow three-game decision over the Olympians, 26-24, 17-25, 25-22. To advance to the rematch with Floyd, New Albany had to win a taxing 25-18, 25-22 match with Seymour.

Hoskins ended up with 19 kills across the three abbreviated matchups, while Mathews had 18 kills and 23 digs. Libero Candice Timberlake had 20 digs for New Albany, while setter Lauren Bratcher passed for 79 assists to go with 18 digs.

It was enough to leave Breeding optimistic about his team’s future, as another matchup with Floyd looms large on the horizon during sectional play.

“We’ve beaten them a couple of games and have gotten real close,” said Breeding, whose team took Floyd to five games in their regular-season meeting. “They are a great team and play a little more consistent than we do.

“The kids are trying hard. I’m pleased with the effort, as we could have very easily been in the loser’s bracket today. It’s not over yet.”

Meanwhile, Powell and the Highlanders have plenty of reason to be optimistic as well, as stars like Schad, Lindsey Ragland and setter Melanie Stutsman have been joined by a rapidly rising supporting cast like Haworth, Smith, Camry Hinton and Kacy Merritt.

Those players played a big role in Floyd’s two other wins on Saturday — a 25-7, 25-10 domination of Madison and a 25-8, 25-10 victory over Jeffersonville. Smith led the team with five kills in the match with Madison and added four blocks and four kills against the Bulldogs. Hinton had a team-high 10 digs against the Red Devils, and added nine more against New Albany.

“Haworth has come along exceptionally well,” said Powell, who lost starter Jordan Owens to a broken hand early last week. “Jennifer Smith had come a long way as well, and had become a solid weapon and a solid block for us. Kacy Merritt and Camry Hinton have both played much better defense lately, so besides the core group, a lot of kids are stepping up.”

Still, Schad led the way for Floyd on offense, striking for eight kills against Jeff and 15 more against New Albany. Ragland had four kills and 10 digs against the Bulldogs.

What’s more important, according to Powell, is that morale is high as his team prepares to make another march through the postseason, where Floyd didn’t lose until the state semifinals last season.

“The main thing with the girls is that everyone gets along,” he said. “We’ve resolved all our issues and everyone is getting along. That’s a big key to winning matches. It’s more important to play as a team, and right now everyone is happy and I’m pleased with their teamwork.”

The day had to be considered a success for Jeff, which opened its day by beating Jennings County to enter the winner’s bracket of the eight-team tourney. The Red Devils were upended by Floyd in the semifinals, and finished fourth overall.



HOOSIER HILLS CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

at New Albany High School

FINALS

Floyd Central d. New Albany 25-23, 25-13

SEMIFINALS

Floyd Central d. Jeffersonville 25-8, 25-10

New Albany d. Seymour 25-18, 25-22

QUARTERFINALS

Floyd Central d. Madison 25-7, 25-10

New Albany d. Columbus East 26-24, 17-25, 25-22

Jeffersonville d. Jennings County 25-19, 21-25, 25-19

        

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