The Saline Reporter
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Roller coaster ride
Hornets runner-up after ups and downs
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 11, 2007
The Saline volleyball team likely had enough ups and downs last Saturday to last it the rest of the season.
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Unfortunately for the Hornets, their long day at the Saline Volleyball Invitational finished with a "down" as Tecumseh claimed the tourney title with a 15-25, 25-16, 15-10 win over the hosts in the finals.
But just to reach the finals, Saline had to bounce back a surprising two-game sweep at the hands of Ann Arbor Greenhills and back-to-back-to-back elimination matches against Milan, Ida, and Southeastern Conference foe Adrian.
"We're happy we made it to the finals," said Saline head coach Courtney Huffman. "We had to work hard to get there. But Tecumseh out-hustled us in Game 3.
"I don't think the girls are real happy with the way they played today."
The tournament started brightly enough for the Hornets. In their opening match of pool play, Saline scored the last five points of Game 1 and got three straight aces from Kelsi Bitter in Game 2 to put away Milan 25-13, 25-16.
But that was followed by surprising 16-25 and 23-25 losses to Greenhills. The Hornets bounced back in Game 1 against final pool play opponent Ida, with a series of Nicole Whiddon kills powering a five-point run in mid-game that helped turn a slim 12-11 contest into a 25-17 Saline win. But the Bluestreaks broke a 23-all tie in Game 2 by scoring the final two points, giving Ida a split and the top spot in Pool A.
Greenhills finished second in the pool by virtue of their head-to-head win, leaving Saline to enter the 11-team elimination bracket as the seventh seed and face Milan a second time in the bracket's opening round. (The top five seeds received byes.) Saline dispatched the Big Reds 25-12, 25-12 to advance to face Ida second time.
In Game 1, a six-point serving run by Sarah Cowen –– including a pair of aces –– helped Saline to a 10-3 lead. Ida battled back to tie the Hornets at 14 and take a brief 16-15 lead, but a string of Kara Zawisza kills powered Saline to a 10-1 closing run and 25-17 win.
Kills by Kristen Nye and Whiddon brought Saline within 13-11 after an early Bluestreak spurt, but this time it was Saline's opponent's turn to make a game- sealing run as Ida scored nine of the next 11 points for a 22-13 lead and eventual 25-19 win.
The decisive third game belonged to the Hornets, however, as a pair of Bitter kills and good serving from Jena Cooper vaulted the host team to a 5-0 lead. Saline cruised from there to win 15-7 and advance to face Adrian in the semifinals.
The Hornets held their nerve to eliminate the Maples in two tense games. Saline trailed 16-15 before an Adrian service error and a quick five-point service run by Jen Galbreath propelled the Hornets to a 21-16 lead and eventual 25-20 win. After a 23-all tie in a back-and-forth Game 2, the two teams exchanged points until tied again at 26. A Bitter kill gave Saline its fourth match point at 27-26 and an Adrian error finally allowed the Hornet to advance to the final 28-26.
Waiting for them was Tecumseh, who had defeated Dexter in the other semifinal. Saline looked likely to take home the championship in Game 1, with setter Katie Stone and Whiddon combining for a number of kills, including a final one to cap an easy 25-15 win.
But the Indians adjusted in Game 2, frustrating the Hornets' attack with solid blocking against Bitter, Whiddon and Zawisza. A late string of four of five points cut a 10-point lead to 23-16, but Tecumseh finished off the game at 25-16.
With one game to 15 to decide the title, both teams came out aggressively, with Whiddon's kill tying the game at five. But with service errors hampering Saline's efforts, Tecumseh won eight of the next 10 points to take a commanding 13-7 lead. A Zawisza ace cut the edge to 14-10, but Tecumseh took the next point to win the championship.
"My personal feeling is that we want that game back," Huffman said afterward, denying that tired legs — the Hornets had played one more match than the Indians — had any impact on the outcome.
"Our serving is usually one of the best parts of our game … We did improve a lot from where we were this morning, which was good to see," she added.
Saline will look to move forward Wednesday on the road against SEC rival Ann Arbor Pioneer, who the Hornets defeated in two games at the Bedford tournament Dec. 28. The Hornets also trounced traditional SEC power Bedford at that tournament, giving the kind of performance Huffman says she expects each time Saline takes the court.
"We had an awesome feeling on Thursday (after the tournament), and we needed to build on that," she said. "We need to be aggressive and play together as a team."
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or .
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