The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Hornets down Adrian in 4
Younger players contribute as Saline moves to 5-1 in SEC
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 15, 2007
Saline won two close games in Saline's tournament and Adrian won in three close games in Adrian's tournament.
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So it wasn't surprising that the Hornets and Maples played another tight match Thursday in Adrian. And given Saline's recent streak of poise in close games, head coach Courtney Huffman wasn't surprised that her team was able to pull out a 25-14, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23 win in the de facto rubber match.
"I wish sometimes we'd play with a little more urgency to start with and maybe put these games away earlier," Huffman said afterward, "but it's great to see them come out on top like that. It should help them build their confidence and hopefully that'll carry over into the tournament (Saturday)."
Going back to their previous Southeastern Conference match against Chelsea, five of Saline's last six games have been decided by the minimum two points. The Hornets have gone 4-1 in those games, helping boost Saline to a 5-1 SEC record and a two-game lead in the SEC Red division standings over Bedford and Pioneer.
In Game 1 against the Maples Thursday, it looked like Saline might not have to go the heart-stopping route. A run of five straight points on Katie Stone's serve –– with four of them won by blocks for kills by Nicole Whiddon –– broke open what had been a 10-10 tie and Kara Zawisza served out the game at 25-14.
The Hornets would go on to take an 11-6 lead in Game 2, but Adrian tied the game at 12 and from that point the match was back-and-forth the rest of the way.
At the end of Game 2, a three-point run from the Maples tied the score at 22, but an assisted block from Kacy Hartman and Jen Finkbeiner and an ace from Kellie Stepaniak restored the Hornet lead to 24-22. Adrian sided out, but suffered a service error to give the game to the visitors 25-23.
In Game 3, after a 6-6 tie, neither team took a lead larger than three points the rest of the way. A Hartman kill helped Saline to a tie at 21 and then again at 23, but the Maples' Sarah Buchardt provided kills on two of the last three points, and Adrian took a 25-23 win.
The Maples looked to be on their way to entering a winner-take-all Game 5 with plenty of momentum when they took an 18-13 lead in Game 4. But Zawisza and Stepaniak got kills to pull the Hornets within 21-18, and after the teams swapped side outs, Stone rattled off three straight points on serve, including an ace, to tie the game at 22.
Adrian sided out for a 23-22 edge, but a Whiddon kill gave service back to Saline, and behind blocks from Whiddon and Jen Galbreath Stepaniak served out the game and match.
Stepaniak saw little playing time early in the season, but like Hartman, JV call-up Finkbeiner and junior Kristen Nye –– all of whom played key roles in the victory –– she has seen an increase in her role since Kelsi Bitter suffered an ankle injury. Huffman said she has been very pleased with the team's play with its new deeper rotations.
"They've done their job," she said. "We ask them to be prepared and they've done that … It pushes (the starters). One thing it shows is that I can put anyone on our team on the court and there won't be any negatives for our team."
Another key in the victory was containing the dangerous Buchardt.
"She's their best player. We wanted to throw her off her hitting pattern and I think we did that," Huffman said. "They served to the zones I asked them to serve to. If you can take a player like her out of her rhythm, obviously that's going to be a big plus for us."
Saturday, Saline went 3-1 in pool play (including a win over the host Mules) before falling to Salem in the quarterfinals of the Bedford Tournament.
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