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THE POSEY COUNTY NEWS
We are Posey County's Definitive Source for News in the Mount Vernon, New Harmony, Poseyville, Saint Philip, Saint Wendel and Wadesville areas. Period.
Posey County Sports
Vikings gain valuable experience
By Dave Pearce
If you are in the market for some easy volleyball wins, the Boonville
Invitational is not the place to go. However, if you have your sights set on
higher goals toward the end of the season, Saturday’s tournament was a great
place to get some experience.
Despite the fact that the Pioneers lost all three matches on Saturday, North
Posey Viking Coach Gary Gentil knows that his young team learned a lot at
the Invitational that they can use down the road.
During regular-season action prior to Saturday’s tournament, the Vikings
took two of three matches, defeating Harrison and Bosse but falling to
Vincennes Rivet.
Gentil was excited by his team’s win over Harrison on Thursday evening,
following a lackluster performance against Vincennes Rivet the night before.
“We played much better tonight,” Gentil said. “Last night we would play well
for two or three points and then we didn’t pay well for a stretch. We just
never could get anything going. But Vincennes Rivet is a pretty sound team.
They are going to beat a lot of teams because they have a couple of good
hard hitters and they move really well and cover the floor. We just have to
gain some more confidence in ourselves.
Against Vincennes Rivet, The Vikings fell 25-26 in the first game before
fighting back to win the second game 25-20. But the Vikings could not
sustain level of intensity and fell in the final two games 25-22 and 25-14.
In that contest, seven different Vikings had service aces. Deana Lindauer,
Kately Esche, Jordan Wassmer, Kelsey Everley, Lisa Garris, Kaylee Durchholz,
and Megan Redman all served up an ace. Everley finished with a game-high
eight digs while Wassmer and Redman had six apiece. Kendall Reidford and
Esche split the setting duties with Reidford finishing with 14 assists and
Esche 11.
In the kill department, Wendi Simpson matcher her number, finishing with
nine kills while Esche had six and Durchholz had four. Caitlynn Herrmann had
a pair of solo blocks while Esche, Simpson, and Garris each had a solo
block. In the reserve match, North Posey won 25-29. 25-25.
But against Harrison, the Vikings came out ready to play and never really
allowed the Warriors to have an opening. The final scores were 25-27, 25-20,
and 25-17.
“I’ve said this before. I really like this group of girls and we have
tremendous potential,” Gentil said of his team. “We just have to continue to
work to get there.”
Against the Warriors, Reidford and Herrmann each had a pair of aces and
Esche added one. In the dig department, Everley was everywhere, finishing
with 14 digs. Redman and Jessica Mason each had four. Again, it was the
Reidford-Esche show in assists with Esche setting up 16 and Reidford 14.
Esche also finished in a tie with Simpson for nine kills and Durchholz had
four. Herrmann had a solo block while Simpson had three block assists
followed by Hermann with two and Deana Lindauer with one. The reserve
Vikings again had a dominating performance with a win of 25-20, 25-12.
“This team has an unlimited upside,” Gentil said. “It seems like we can get
two or three of them going at a time but if we can ever get all of them on
the same page at the same time, we are going to be extremely hard to beat.
Right now, it is just finding the consistency.”
The high number of players involved in aces and kills is a good weapon to
have, according to Gentil. But with so many people contributing, it is hard
for the players to develop the chemistry they need. Gentil said that when
each player fills her role, everything will be fine.
“Right now we seem to be hesitating and looking instead of taking charge,”
Gentil said. “But these girls are smart girls and they work hard and it will
come.”
While Gentil was somewhat reserved about naming individuals, he did point
out that the speed of Megan Redman at libero has proven to be an asset for
the team.
“Caitlin Herrmann has had some really good nights for us and Wendi Simpson
is starting to get her power and timing down,” Gentil continued. “And there
are some of the older players that know what it takes and we seem to get a
pretty consistent effort out of them every time out.”
Against Bosse earlier in the week, the Vikings were dominant winning 25-12,
27-25 and 25-17. Lindauer, Esche, and Reidford had two aces apiece while
Redman had six digs and Mason had three. Everley added a pair. Esche
finished with 14 assists and Reidfor nine.
Simpson finished with 10 kills while Esche had four and Garris three.
Simpson had three blocks while Herrmann had two and Durchholz had one.
Herrmann also had three block assists while Everley, Esche, and Simpson had
two apiece. The reserves again were dominant finishing off the Bulldogs
25-21 and 25-12.
At Boonville on Saturday, the Lady Vikings actually took the host Pioneers
into a third and deciding game that went 25-19 in favor of Boonville. Only
one point separated the teams’ total number of points through the first two
games, with the teams splitting the first two.
In varsity action at the tournament, Boonville def. Heritage Hills 25-20,
20-25, 25-21; Forest Park def. North Posey 25-10, 25- 13; Heritage Hills
def. Forest Park 25-14, 25-23; Boonville def. North Posey 25-22, 23-25,
25-19; Heritage Hills def. North Posey 25-11, 25-20; Boonville def. Forest
Park 25-19, 25-13.
In reserve action at the tournament, Forest Park def. Boonville 25-13,
13-25, 15-14; Heritage Hills def. North Posey 25-17, 25-18; Boonville def.
Heritage Hills 18-25, 25-22, 15-11; North Posey def. Forest Park 25-14,
25-21; Boonville def. North Posey 20-25, 25-19, 15-5; Heritage Hills def.
Forest Park 25-18, 25-14. Champions: Boonville.
