VOLLEYBALL

The Forester volleyball team ended the Music City Invitational on an upswing by sweeping Freed-Hardman, 26-24, 25-13, 25-23. The win came on the heels of a 3-0 loss, 25-18, 25-21, 25-21, to Loyola a few hours prior as HU is now 6-5 on the year.

“After a rough start to a tournament weekend, I am proud of the way this team decided to end on a high note,” said Coach Herber. “They energy each player brought to each point carried us through the entire match.”

HU made it look easy. It was their second sweep of the year and they finished with 42 kills on 103 swings for a .282 hitting percentage. Paige Eakright posted a team-best 14 kills to go along with ten digs for the game’s only double double.

Lindsay Ingenito also posted double digit kills with 12 while Brandy Michie added eight. Jennings Tacosik handed out 34 assists in addition to registering seven digs, four kills and just as many aces.

Ariene Butler, who wasn’t at Friday’s games because of classroom commitments, jumped back in the action to collect 15 digs.

The match against Loyola earlier that day was the first meeting between the two programs with the Wolf Pack coming out on top in three closely contested sets. The Foresters managed just 19 kills to Loyola’s 35. Hitting errors plagued Herber’s crew to the tune of a negative hitting percentage.

Michie finished with six kills to pace Huntington. Tacosik put down four and dished out 14 assists. Butler led HU defensively with 11 digs.

While the weekend wasn’t what Herber hoped it would be, she remains encouraged by how her team responds to hardship. “We lost sight of our foundation for a few matches, but we regained our focus. Adversity and challenges have made us stronger, and we are ready to begin conference play again.

“This team should never count themselves out of a match.”

HU returns to the friendly confines of Platt Arena on Tuesday to host Mount Vernon at 7:00 p.m.