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Wilmington Regional Final November 3, 2002 By Jim Jicha
Jenna Miller leads Alter into State Semifinal After Kettering Alter’s hard earned 15-10, 16-14 win over top-ranked Roger Bacon to advance to the State Semifinal, a fan commented on how the Spartans had been unable to stop Alter’s Jenna Miller. Indeed, the Knights’ outside hitter looked like she was on a mission as she shredded the Spartans’ defense with spikes that were delivered with extreme determination, and almost, it seemed, with a sense of urgency. A look at Alter’s roster, along with a brief history of recent events in the Knights-Spartans rivalry, explains why. Alter has been playing in Roger Bacon’s shadow for three years, with the Spartans advancing to State each year. Last season Alter finished 24-3, losing both league matches and the Regional Final to the eventual State Champion Spartans. With the Spartans lineup loaded with returning seniors, this year promised to be more of the same. Kettering Alter on the other hand figured to be the team of the future, next year’s pick to win State, because they will return five starters in 2003. The only player who won't be back is senior outside hitter Jenna Miller. For her there would be no dreams of going to State in 2003. For Jenna Miller, Saturday’s match with Roger Bacon was now or never. Not that Miller was the only star in Saturday’s win. Carrie DeMange had a great all-around performance, contributing several kills, and in each game scoring two consecutive points on blocks. She also had some notably good passes in backcourt. Setter Ali Hausfeld also had a stellar performance that included some well placed dumps into holes on the Bacon side of the net. The scoring started after three service breaks, as Roger Bacon broke to a 3-0 lead. After seven more service breaks, Alter tied the match at 3-all. The teams then traded one point leads until Alter led 8-7. At this point there were eight more service breaks, and then Alter started to pull away. DeMange had a kill to make it 10-7, and a kill for another point two service breaks later. After Roger Bacon closed to 11-9, Lindsey Woeste had a kill to break serve, and two more kills for points. Alter got their final two points on a block by Hausfeld and a dump by DeMange. The second game featured two momentum shifts. Miller drilled two points for kills to start the first with Roger Bacon leading 2-1, and Alter roared to a 10-4 lead. Then, with Alter on top 13-8, the Spartan’s Brittney Holden ignited the second shift on a smashing knock-down kill that drove an Alter defender to the floor. This gave the serve to Roger Bacon and they staged a staged a furious rally to go up 14-13. There were several service breaks and long volleys in this stretch, and both sides made spectacular defensive plays, including a pancake dig by Woeste. Service was returned to Alter when a Roger Bacon hit sailed out, and the match continued its intensity through four more service exchanges. But when Alter blocked a spike by Holden, Roger Bacon’s next missive over the net was out and the game was tied. Hausfeld followed up with a dump for a point, and another Roger Bacon spike sailed out of bounds to end the match. The win was Alter’s second in three tries over Roger Bacon, and proved that last month’s 16-14, 14-16, 15-11 homecourt win over the Spartans was no fluke. That win gave the Knights a share of the league title. This one sends them to the Nutter Center, perhaps a year early, but just in time for Jenna Miller.
Sidney Lehman knocks Jonathan Alder from ranks of unbeaten Just going by records Sidney Lehman looked like the underdog in their match with undefeated Jonathan Alder. Lehman, after all, had six losses. But looks are often deceiving, and Lehman's record is especially so. The Cavaliers have played the strongest schedule of any Division III team in the state. All their losses are to highly ranked teams, and three are to teams that are now going to State. So it was not surprising that Lehman came out on top Saturday. What was surprising was the relative ease with which they won. In the first game Lehman broke out to a 3-0 lead, increased it to 12-4 and coasted home 15-7. Game two saw Alder take an early 3-1 lead. But a kill by the Cavaliers' Amy Edwards sent Melissa Robbins to the line and she promptly served up five points, two on aces, two on Alder errors, and the fifth on another kill by Edwards. Alder was able to close to 6-7 on a dump by Jodi Palmer, and tips by Amber Murphy and Johannah Yutzy, but Lehman then took over the match rolling to a 13-6 lead. The final score was 15-9. Alder was never able to get their vaunted hitting attack going, and most of Yutzy's points came on blocks and tips. Meanwhile, Lehman's Ashley Newcomer and Emily Hodges were pounding well placed spikes at Alder's defense for most of the match. With the win Lehman advances to a State Semifinal with Girard. The Cavaliers' last appearance was in 2000 when they won it all with a record of 30-0.
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