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KINNIKINNICK — When things got tough on Tuesday night, Huntington coach Jackie Stauffer didn’t have to look far for leadership.
After seizing a 19-14 lead in the first set, the Huntsmen allowed Zane Trace to rally for a match-opening 25-20 win
But with three experienced veterans on the court, that loss was immediately placed squarely in the rear view mirror. Huntington (4-0, 1-0 SVC) never looked back and used the play of play of Kaci Carroll, Allie Baker and Leah McCloskey to hand the Pioneers a 20-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-19 loss.
“I’m very proud. We have seasoned girls back, but we also have some young faces,” Stauffer said. “No matter how much you prepare in the summer, you can’t prepare a team for SVC volleyball. When you’re in there for the first time, you get a little shaky, a little nervous. But our experience helped us pull through. We finished the game and that’s something we discussed.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Carroll and Baker gave the Pioneers (2-3, 0-1 SVC) problems at the net all night long. But McCloskey called the shots at her setter position.
The senior, who has now passed the 1,300-assist mark in her career, placed the ball exactly where her hitters needed it to be all night long while reading ZT’s defensive alignments like a book.
“I always say that the setter is the quarterback of your team and it’s often a thankless job,” Stauffer said. “They make all the decisions and Leah does exactly that. I don’t have to tell her too much. She knows what to do and she just goes with the flow. She’s playing in a 5-1 [rotation] this year, so she has full control. She’s a senior, so she’s been there before. We’re excited to see what she can do this year.”
Tale of the tape
After grabbing an early lead, Carroll gave the Huntsmen a 15-10 advantage midway through the first set and forced the Pioneers to call a timeout.
Huntington’s lead grew to 19-14 but the Pioneers weren’t dead in the water just yet. They used a lethal mix of Laynie Scott, Addison Platt and Karlee Snavely to claw their way back into things and, eventually, take a 21-20 lead.
When ZT rattled off the next four points, they had polished off a set-ending 11-1 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
“I just told them to take a deep breath,” Stauffer said. “It’s volleyball and you get a reset after some losses. I just reminded them of that. I wanted them to go in [to the third] with confidence. I want them to know how good they are. I told them to take a look at what we’d done all summer and how hard we prepared. I think it helped us calm down a little bit and we were able to finish with a win.”
Kellough’s group responded by taking an 8-2 lead to begin the second set. And, just for a moment, it looked like ZT would once again make a dramatic comeback. In fact, at one time, the Pioneers had gone on a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 9-8.
PHOTOS: Images from Huntington’s four-set win over Zane Trace
But Carroll and Baker, alongside freshman Brailee Hauswirth, went to work. That trio, and a slew of Pioneer errors, aided Huntington to a 25-13 victory, tying the match at 1-1.
“We needed to just play harder,” Carroll said. “We weren’t giving it what we had. [Stauffer] told us to go out there and show [ZT] who we were. We went out there and showed them who we were.”
The third was back-and-forth as it gets.
Zane Trace held a 19-16 lead late before Carroll powered down back-to-back kills to force a 19-19 deadlock. Baker then carried on the momentum that Carroll created, finding an open corner for a kill and giving Huntington a late 22-20 edge.
The Pioneers managed to fight their way back into things, forcing a 25-25 tie and giving fans free volleyball. But Carroll and company strung together back-to-back points in what felt like a must-win third set, finishing a 27-25 victory.
The fourth saw more nip-and-tuck action.
But after battling to take a 19-18 lead, the Huntsmen sent McCloskey to the service line and the senior did the rest. A match-clinching 6-1 run — one that was highlighted by back-to-back aces — put the exclamation point on a hard-earned W.
“I’m just proud,” McCloskey said. “We fought hard tonight. We’ve been working so hard all summer long and this season. We just worked until the end.”
What’s on tap
Both teams are back in league play on Thursday.
While Zane Trace attempts to get back on track against Paint Valley, Huntington will make a trip to Southeastern.
“Anytime you’re going away from home, that’s tough,” Stauffer said. “But for us, I just think we need to make sure we’re doing the little things correctly. It’s going in and making sure you’re hitting base every time, making sure we’re getting back quick on defense every time … with these tough teams we’re playing against, we can’t slack. If we can figure that out and be tough every single play, we’re going to be something to reckon with.”
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