The Saline Reporter
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Dreadnaughts sunk in Saline
Hornets roll to three-game sweep to finish at 6-1 in SEC
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2007
The volleyball playoffs won't start until the opening round of districts March 3.
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But judging by their performance against Dexter Thursday night, Saline's volleyball team might be ready now.
The Hornets blew away the visiting Dreadnaughts in a three-game sweep, winning comfortably by scores of 25-15, 25-11, and 25-12. Combined with a Chelsea loss to Pioneer, the win gave Saline sole ownership of the best regular season record in the Southeastern Conference at 6-1.
"I think the girls are just playing really well right now," head coach Courtney Huffman said afterward. "We're doing a good job of staying focused … the girls are doing their jobs."
Early on, it looked as if the Dexter match might not be so lopsided, as the Dreadnaughts tied game 1 at 11. But an ace from Susan McDonough helped spark a 7-1 run capped by a Kara Zawisza block and Saline led 18-11. Kills from McDonough and Kacy Hartman took the lead to 23-14, and Zawisza finished the game with an ace.
It was more the same in Game 2 as back-to-back kills from Hartman and freshman Jen Finkbeiner pushed an early Hornet lead to 16-7.
At 18-10 Saline, the two teams put together a furious rally, with players on both sides making one clutch save after another. With the Hornet bench on its feet, Jen Galbreath finally put the point away for Saline with an emphatic kill. The point drew a long round of applause from an appreciative home crowd, and a deflated Dexter went on to win only one of the next seven points as Saline again ran away with the game.
The Dreadnaughts were able to make a better contest of it in Game 3, winning three straight to even the game at 10-all, but Saline took 12 of the game's final 13 points to notch another easy win.
Huffman admitted that the scoreline might have been much closer had the Dreadnaughts not been missing their starting middle hitter, but also said she didn't "think that would have made that big a difference."
"They're doing what we've asked them to do, doing what we've worked on in practice," she said. "We're coming together as a team. Anybody who's stepping on the court right now knows what they need to do."
Zawisza led the Hornets in kills with 10, followed by Nicole Whiddon with eight and Hartman with six. Setters Galbreath and Stone each finished in double digits in assists with 14 and 13, respectively. Zawisza also led the way in digs with 11 while Galbreath notched 10 and McDonough six. Whiddon also grabbed a pair of solo blocks.
The other big development in Saline volleyball this week was the draw for the district tournament in Adrian. The Hornets will play a first-round match against Tecumseh, with the winner moving on to face Dexter in the tournament semifinals.
"I think our district is a very good district and very competitive," Huffman said. "Anybody who shows up to play that day could win it. Tecumseh is a good team and we'll have to bring our 'A' game."
Saline will take the court again at the SEC Red division tournament Thursday at Adrian's Heritage Park beginning at 5:30 p.m.
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