VOLLEYBALL

The Forester volleyball team showed moments of greatness in a four-set battle that ultimately favored #7 Indiana Wesleyan in four sets, 25-15, 25-18, 25-27, 25-14. The Wildcats improve to 5-1 overall and in league play while the loss leaves HU (0-6, 0-6) hungry for a win.

Huntington made it clear they can play with anyone in the conference in the third set when they outlasted IWU for the 27-25 W. After grabbing an early lead, HU found themselves down by the midway point of the set and could have easily thrown in the towel. But not Herber’s gritty crew.

Instead the hosts rallied back from a 16-13 deficit to climb back on top 19-17 after which they never trailed to claim the set.

“I’m incredibly proud of how we played in set three,” said Herber. “Our passes were consistent and our attackers did a great job of putting the ball away and swinging aggressively.”

Brea Metz and Sam Gray teamed up to lead the Foresters offensively in the set with four and three kills respectively while Lindsay Ingenito and Brandy Michie each added two.

Metz finished with a team-high 12 kills for the match. Ingenito finished with eight kills on 15 swings for a hitting percentage of .467 to go along with two blocks. Metz also tallied eight kills for her team. Jennings Tacosik distributed the ball to the tune of 33 assists. Ariene Butler mopped up the floor to pick up 40 digs.

“Indiana Wesleyan is an outstanding team,” said Herber. “They play consistent defense and are always in attack mode. You rarely see them send a free ball.

“Moving forward, we are going to work on covering tips and limiting our attacking errors in practice.”

HU is back in Platt Arena on Saturday night to host last year’s NAIA National Champions in Marian. Opening serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.