VOLLEYBALL

The HU volleyball team claimed two more wins over the weekend to close out the Forester Invitational by beating Tennessee Wesleyan and the University of Cumberlands. The wins push Huntington’s record to 3-1 on the season.

The hosts made quick work of Tennessee Wesleyan first thing Saturday morning in straight sets, 25-13, 25-21, 25-10. It was at this tournament last year that HU last blanked an opponent.

Fourteen Foresters saw action with Jennings Tacosik directing traffic by handing out 32 assists. She didn’t play favorites as five players logged at least four kills each. Paige Eakright topped Herber’s crew with 14 kills while Lindsay Ingenito collected nine on 11 swings in the middle. Brandy Michie added seven. As a team, HU finished with 40 kills on 87 swings for an impressive .345 hitting percentage.

“This was the definition of a team effort,” noted Coach Herber. “Every single player contributed to that win.

“We have a sideline of players who are consistently communicating with athletes on the floor and celebrating each point. That makes a huge difference.”

Defensively, Eakright and Ariene Butler each collected 11 digs. The Foresters didn’t do much wrong as their serving was also on point. Huntington tallied 13 aces with Tacosik and Elaine Bredensteiner combining for ten. The exclamation point on the match was posting seven aces and limiting the Bulldogs to just two kills in the third set.

“I challenged our girls to leave no double in the other team’s mind that we were the better team. That’s exactly what they did in set three, and the scoreboard reflected it.”

The evening was a battle from start to finish against Cumberlands with HU eventually walking away with the win in four, 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19.

“We beat an outstanding team tonight that never led down,” said Herber. “I’m proud of our girls for fighting to the end by encouraging one another and making adjustments.

“The game of volleyball is best of five sets for a reason. We should live for moments like tonight where it’s a tight game against a good team. That’s when our most fierce mentality should occur.”

While Huntington led from start to finish in the first set, the second set was a different story as it featured 25 ties and ten lead changes before Tacosik posted back-to-back kills to polish off win No. 2 of the match.

It had all the makings of a three-set affair when the Foresters rattled off five straight points for a 21-18 advantage in the third set, but the Bearcats had other plans. They more than returned the favor with a 6-0 run that HU wasn’t able to combat on the way to a two-point win forcing a fourth set.

Aside from being on the wrong side of a 10-9 score, the Foresters never trailed in the final set with Eakright to thank. The 5-10 senior fueled her team by registering eight kills on ten swings. But she had plenty of help from her teammates as collectively HU went 20-for-36 with just seven hitting errors.

Eakright finished with 20 kills for the match while Ingenito posted 13 to go along with 1.5 blocks. Tacosik contributions were also well documented having tallied 47 assists, six digs, five kills and five aces. Butler also made her presence known by tracking down 22 digs. Flickinger and Eakright also recorded double digit digs with 17 and 12 respectively.

Herber continues to praise her players’ commitment to team. “Our sideline is a part of this win as much as the six girls on the floor at any given time. Players off the court communicated about open spots, built energy and encouraged non-stop.

“That’s what it will take to be successful moving forward this season.”

Next up for Herber and crew is a home match on Tuesday against Roosevelt at 7:00 p.m.