The Highland volleyball team will be returning to districts once again after dispatching Cristo Rey by scores of 25-9, 25-5 and 25-7 in Wednesday’s Division II sectional final.
“We focused just on our side of the ball and doing what we needed to do,” said head coach Rob Terrill. “Lots of times, it’s harder to maintain focus when it’s lopsided, but I thought the girls did good.”
For the second straight tournament match, Terrill was able to play all 15 girls that he dressed.
“There are pluses and minuses on both sides,” said the coach. “The plus is that we did have 15 girls on the floor, but on the other side, when you play competitive games, it prepares you for down the road.”
It didn’t take long for the Scots to ensure Wednesday’s match would not be competitive.
After Cristo Rey kept it close for a few points, staying within a 5-4 margin in the first set, the Scots got two points by Ashlynn Belcher. Leading 9-5, the team would then get nine straight points from Emma West to open up a big lead on their way to winning 25-9.
Things wouldn’t be any more difficult in the second and third sets. In the second set, four points by West helped stake Highland to a 5-0 lead. With the score 10-4, the team got nine straight from Brylinn Tuggle. Five from Kendall Stover then finished off the set.
Then, leading 2-1 in the third, Highland got six points from Morgan Snider to open up an 8-1 lead. Alexis Eusey tallied five, Kami Stover picked up four and Camryn Miller contributed four more as the Scots breezed to a 25-5 win.
Kendall Stover finished with eight kills on the night, while Brooke Schott and Larsen Terrill had six each. Both West and Tuggle had five aces, with West adding four kills.
Now, Highland gets a week off before competing against Granville in the district semifinals at Licking Heights on Wednesday. That extended break is a positive as far as Terrill is concerned, as he’s still working to get his team completely healthy.
“The MOAC season is done earlier than the KMAC’s,” he said. “We were done last Tuesday, so we had a week off and had a scrimmage with DeSales. We’ve been pretty banged up all year. It gives us an opportunity to get healthy.”
