VOLLEYBALL

The HU volleyball team made the short trip to Fort Wayne Friday night to take on #RV Saint Francis. While each set was close, the Foresters could never quite get over the hump to suffer a 3-0 loss, 25-18, 25-23, 25-17, to the host Cougars.

Huntington is 13-15 on the year, 5-8 in CL action while the W is USF’s third straight as they move to 18-10 on the year, 9-4 in the league.

“These girls worked hard to themselves in a great position to win each set, but we let one run in each set dictate the match,” said Coach Herber. “When the gets tight, we need to play with a fearless mentality. Tonight we let our mental game in each of those runs affect our fundamental game.”

Offense for Herber’s squad was a shared effort as five different Foresters logged at least five kills. Paige Eakright topped HU with seven, Ty Bynum and Brandy Michie posted six apiece while Jennings Tacosik and Lindsay Ingenito added five kills each. Tacosik also doled out 26 assists.

Ariene Butler tracked down 22 digs to pace Huntington defensively.

Despite the loss, Herber remains optimistic as the season nears an end. “No matter if we win or lose, I’d choose this team any day. With five regular season matches to go, this team is capable of doing something special. I’ll never stop believing it.”

The Foresters have a quick turnaround with a match tomorrow at Spring Arbor.

“We don’t have the luxury of practicing before we take the floor tomorrow against Spring Arbor, but I challenged each player to think of one area of their game they can choose to improve on tomorrow,” said Herber.

Opening serve with the Cougars is set for 3:00 p.m.