VOLLEYBALL

The HU volleyball team gave the Homecoming crowd what it wanted Friday afternoon by blanking Manchester University, 25-20, 25-17, 27-25, in a neighborly non-conference clash in Platt Arena. Over the last decade, these two squads have gone toe-to-toe just four times with the Foresters recording the win each time.

The sweep is HU’s third of the year but didn’t come without a little flair for the dramatic. Facing a 17-12 deficit in the third set, the Foresters rallied back to a 23-23 deadlock before fighting off two set points to eventually pull off the 27-25 comeback for the three and out.

“A sweep is harder to come by than people may think,” said Coach Herber. “I’m proud of our team for not throwing in the towel in set three and decided to fight back and win the match.”

Today’s win is Huntington’s second of the week as they improve to 11-10 overall.

HU dominated play at the net. Even more impressive than logging a .225 hitting percentage as a team, HU finished with a season-best ten blocks behind their rookie middle Tya Bynum who posted a career-high 3.5 blocks while three others in Jennings Tacosik, Lindsay Ingenito and Brandy Michie pitched in 1.5 apiece.

Bynum was also HU’s leader offensively with nine kills on 12 swings. Michie collected eight kills while Paige Eakright put down five. Tacosik orchestrated the balanced attack by handing out 28 dimes. Ariene Butler picked up ten digs to anchor the backline.

“Today was a team effort,” said Herber. “I thought everyone did a great job of being mentally focused when their name was called on.

“These girls have worked extremely hard all season. They now have a weekend off to rest and be refreshed. They’ve earned it.”

Next up for Herber and crew is a home match with Bethel on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.