VOLLEYBALL

The Huntington volleyball team made the short trip to Fort Wayne Wednesday night where they were on the wrong end of a 3-0 decision, 25-23, 25-17, 26-24, to Saint Francis. It was the Cougars (1-2) first win while the loss drops HU to 0-4.

As has been the case all season, the Foresters stayed within striking distance of their opponent with tonight’s performance no different. The visitors played within six kills of USF and matched their hosts in blocks with four.

The first two sets had a similar feel as HU jumped out to an early four-point advantage, still held a lead at the midway point before the Cougars climbed on top for good. While USF never trailed in set three, Herber and crew kept the pressure throughout to extend the game to extra points before conceding.

“Our locker room chat was short and to the point,” said Herber. “We have to find a way to win a tight set and therefore win a match.

“We cannot let down our play for a single point in this conference. If you let any team get their foot in the door, it’s dangerous. We have to be able to capitalize on the moments we are ahead.”

Brandy Michie finished with 12 kills to pace Huntington. Brea Metz chipped in ten while Tya Bynum and Abby Robinson added five apiece. Jennings Tacosik orchestrated the offense by handing out 32 assists.

At the defensive end, Ariene Butler recorded 22 digs. Gabby Hall and Nicole Flickinger also tallied double-digit digs with 12 and 11 respectively. At the net, Lindsay Ingenito finished with 1.5 blocks.

“I thought we did a much better job of blocking tonight which has been our kryptonite,” noted Herber. “Our attackers also did a better job of hitting around the block to find the open spot on the floor.”

Herber remains optimistic about her team’s potential. “I love our fight and there are still great things ahead for this team. I told our girls what play to run for the last point of the match, and we executed it perfectly.

“It didn’t score, but that’s on me. As their leader, I also need to step up my game and be the type of coach who guides my team to win in the end.”

The Foresters will look to get on track when they host Grace on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.