VOLLEYBALL

It was a rollercoaster of emotions Tuesday night at Odle Arena in a five-set thriller between the Huntington volleyball team and the Taylor Trojans (1-1, 1-1) that eventually favored the hosts, 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 15-8.

The Foresters struck early and often to enjoy an 11-4 advantage in set one only to watch it slowly slip away. TU climbed ahead for the first time at 23-22 before eventually stealing the W. Taylor would go on to claim set #2 with their only deficit coming on the opening point.

Set three was up for grabs as evidenced by the 21 ties and five lead changes with things seemingly falling into place for the Trojans who held a late two-point advantage of 23-21. But senior Brea Metz reversed that trend with a kill that spurred a vicious comeback that ended with a pair of HU blocks to keep the match alive.

The Foresters carried momentum from their come-from-behind win to never trail in the fourth set to knot things up at 2-2 setting up the rubber match that the Trojans took charge of and never looked back.

Offense was by committee for Huntington with freshman Abby Robinson and Metz leading the way with 13 and 12 kills respectively. Tya Bynum put down nine while Jennings Tacosik and Lindsay Ingenito collected eight kills apiece. As a team, the Foresters finished with 59 kills and a .151 hitting percentage. The Trojans posted the same number of kills with a slightly more efficient hitting rate of .220.

In addition to making her presence known on the offensive end, Ingenito also patrolled the net defensively to record 4.5 blocks, two of which were of the solo variety, to claim half of her team’s nine blocks. Ariene Butler mopped up the backline with 26 digs. Nicole Flickinger was also active in the back row to pick up 14 digs.

Tacosik dolled out 42 assists in addition to registering seven digs and two aces. The Foresters finished with six aces and ten service errors on the night while their counterparts went five and 12 in those same categories.

The loss drops HU to 0-2 overall and that same record in league play. Herber and crew host Mount Vernon in their home opener on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.