VOLLEYBALL

The Huntington volleyball team got back to their winning ways Saturday afternoon to take Spring Arbor in five, 25-16, 25-21, 18-25, 18-25, 15-8, at McDonald Athletic Center. With this W, the Foresters improve to 14-15 overall, 6-8 in league play.

With four regular season matches remaining, Herber and crew are sitting seventh in the CL standings, one game out of sixth and two games out of fifth.

After rolling past the Cougars in the first set, having never trailed, the Foresters grabbed a second win for the early 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, SAU shocked their visitors by storming back to win the next two to set up the rubber match.

“In sets two and three, we made too many unforced errors and didn’t control our side of the net,” said Coach Herber. “We beat ourselves.”

Huntington had two things in their corner to start the fifth and final set. First, as is well documented, the Foresters’ resiliency knows no end. Secondly, HU has trumped their opponent four out the six times a match has stretched to five sets.

Both things rang true on this given day as Herber’s squad nearly doubled up their hosts score-wise in the decisive set to breeze to their fifth five-set win of the year.

Jennings Tacosik passed out 43 dimes with three main targets in Lindsay Ingenito, Paige Eakright and Brandy Michie who each finished with 13 kills. Tacosik was also an active threat offensively as evidenced by putting down six while Brea Metz finished with that same number of kills to make for a well-balanced attack.

Ariene Butler bolstered a defense that also featured several Foresters getting into the action. The junior libero posted 21 digs. Nicole Flickinger totaled 14 while Eakright and Laura Nagle added 13 and 11 digs respectively.

“We did an excellent job coming out strong and finishing with intensity,” said Herber. “I love how we compete in fifth sets this season!

“Assistant Coach Josh Kreiner led a great pre-match devotional where we discussed the importance of preparation, giving our best effort in the process and surrendering the outcomes to God.”

The loss leaves SAU still looking for that first conference win as they drop to 6-17 overall, 0-14 in league action. HU makes the long trip to Mount Vernon on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the Cougars.