VOLLEYBALL

The Huntington volleyball team wrapped up the weekend with a 3-1 loss, 25-13, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, to Saint Francis (3-8, 3-8) on Saturday at Platt Arena. With this win, USF secures the sweep over HU having swept Herber and crew several weeks back.

The first two sets came and went with the Cougars jumping out to a 2-0 lead before the Foresters bounced back to take charge of the third set. After swapping the lead multiple times, HU jumped in front permanently at 17-16. It was the start of a 9-3 run highlighted by Abby Robinson’s three kills.

From all indications to start the fourth set, it looked like Huntington (0-12, 0-11) would continue rolling as they shot out in front 6-0. While Huntington still clung to a lead by the midway point of the set, the Cougars methodically scratched and clawed their way back to surge ahead 15-14 on the way to taking the set for the win.

“I was grateful for the way we came out strong in the fourth set as that’s been our kryptonite,” said Coach Herber.

Robinson finished with a match-high 14 kills. The rookie outside hitter leads her team offensively with 105 kills and ranks 8th in the league in kills per set at 2.8. Brea Metz tallied seven kills on the night while Lindsay Ingenito added six.

Jennings Tacosik handed out 25 dimes to go along with 11 digs, three aces and two blocks. Ariene Butler posted 20 digs while Robinson and Nicole Flickinger finished with 17 and 13 digs respectively. Both teams turned in a solid performance at the net defensively with USF claiming the slight 8-7 advantage in blocks.

The glaring difference between the two teams was offensive productivity. The Cougars committed 16 fewer hitting errors than their hosts which resulted in a significantly higher hitting percentage of .179 to HU’s .036.

“We gave Saint Francis 45 points tonight off of our errors,” noted Herber. “Volleyball is a game of mistakes, but we need to execute not making the same mistake twice in a row by making the necessary adjustments.

“We are going to take our intensity and focus to the next level. Limiting our match errors starts in practice. We are going to make every rep count this week.”

COVID has forced multiple postponements as HU’s next contest isn’t until October 28 at Marian.