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Smithville, Wooster win key league contests September 6, 2006 By Jim Jicha We recently moved to northeastern Ohio, Wooster specifically, and this has afforded me the opportunity to see some schools that I rarely encounter. Last Thursday perennial Wayne County Athletic League power Smithville survived a 19-25, 25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 15-10 conference tussle with West Salem Northwestern. I’d never seen Northwestern, and had only run into Smithville once at a regional in Bowling Green (I went northwest that year to combine volleyball with a visit to my parents, and for some reason the geography gods placed Smithville’s district in that region). Visiting Northwestern was led by 5’11” sophomore hitter Kara Koch, who more than amply demonstrated the talents that gained her Honorable Mention All-Ohio as a frosh. The Huskies took an 11-6 first game lead on kills by sophomore outside Kristen Warner and middle Tarah Spotts. A tip by Melissa Ogden abruptly halted a 3-point Smithville rally, making the score 23-18. Warner then served up an ace, and after one more Smithville point, a blast by Spotts was dug into the ceiling to end the game. Smithville opened up a 14-5 lead in game two, but a spiking, tipping and blocking rampage by Koch knotted matters at 16. The Smithies were able to pull back in front on kills by senior Lori Ickes, and scored game point on a Leah Martin ace. Smithville roared out 16-8 in game three with Martin serving up a seven point run, fueled by kills from Sasha Horst and sophomore Jenna Hartzler, and a booming block by Horst. Koch led another charge that tied things at 19. However, Ickes again scored timely kills and Sasha Horst served two aces to end the threat. The Huskies stayed with Smithville in game four, and it was they who pulled away at the end. Koch led the way with six points, and her tip following a great dig by Damian Greene put Northwestern up 20-15. With Koch in the back row, Warner scored two kills, Greene followed another nice dig with a kill of her own and, after an errant hit, Ogden put down game point to send the match into overtime. Koch led the scoring in the tiebreaker, getting two tips, a spike and a block. But Smithie freshman Jenna Pew contributed a block and a kill to help keep things close as the teams parried to eight ties en route to a 9-9 deadlock. And in the end it was a senior, Ickes, who took control of the match. Scoring six of Smithville’s final seven points, she also saved a bad pass and dug a well placed tip by Koch to lead a 5-1 run to the finish. Northwestern will host Smithville in a rematch on September 26. ******************************************************* Last night host Wooster won a tough league match over Orrville. The Generals opened up the season last week with a road win at West Holmes. These teams were more familiar to me, Wooster having been to State the past two years, and Orrville in 2003 when they won it all, and again in 2004. Both squads have exciting young hitters, so we may see more of them at the Nutter. Wooster is led by senior setter Hannah Brown, and she will be sorely missed after this season. But with spikers like sophomore Kelci Marschall and freshman Jade Craycraft, the Generals' artillery is in place for a long siege. Orrville has two setters, senior Aireka Wright and junior Whitney Dalessandro. The Red Riders attack is led by frosh sensation Erin Short, whose sister Erica is an Indiana Hoosier, junior middle Alex Pirman and lefty freshman outside Hannah Brenner. Wooster had their work cut out for them until game four which, disappointingly, was no contest. Orrville rode to a 13-8 game one lead with Short contributing four kills and a block. Brown served the Generals to a tie, and also contributed offensively with a well placed dump. Scoring went back and forth as Craycraft nailed a dump and followed up with a block. With Wooster up 19-18, Natalie Phillips dug a blast from Short back over the net, thereby igniting Wooster’s winning rally as Orrville hit their next volley out. Marschall spiked a point on a slide and scored twice on blocks to finish it. Scoring went back and forth in game two until Brenner and Short each scored a kill and a block to put the Red Riders up 11-7. However, the Generals rallied to a 16-14. Short scored twice to tie it at 17. The Generals went up 20-18 on two kills by junior Jill Henshaw and a blast from Marschall, after which Orrville retied it on a booming block by Pirman and an ace by Short. With the score knotted at 21, Phillips started another rally, this time with a kill, and middle hitter Brittany Aukerman demolished an overpass, as Wooster took a 2-0 lead. Orrville again took charge in game three, following an initial Wooster spurt, and this time they made it stick, building leads of 12-9, 15-10 and 17-11 with seniors Taylor Brenner and Courtney Bishop leading the offense. Phillips commenced yet another rally, scoring three kills, and Wooster tied it at 20. However, that respite proved to be short lived when a smash by Bishop slammed into the Generals’ backcourt, and a dump by Dalessandro landed in a hole. On the ensuing volley, Bishop passed nicely to Dalessandro who gave Short a set she couldn't refuse, and two scores later Short spiked game point down the left side. Game four got off to a briefly intriguing start when Hannah Brenner smoked a spike to start the scoring. But there would be no tiebreaker as Orrville committed some errors, after which Marschall, Phillips and Aukerman led the charging Generals to a 12-3 lead. A short while later, Wooster libero Taryn Jeffers served up two aces in a seven point run that put the match out of reach at 21-7. Marschall administered the coup de grace with a tip. The teams will tangle again on September 28, at Orrville. Wooster hosts Mansfield Madison next Tuesday.
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