Cougars roar past Le-Win: Eastland dominant in rubber match

LANARK – Twice Eastland and Lena-Winslow met during the regular season.

Early in September, Le-Win upset the defending Class 1A state champions in three games. In October, Eastland gained retribution with a three-game win.

On Tuesday, the teams met again in the Class 1A Eastland Sectional semifinal. The Cougars thrived in the big-game setting, upending the Panthers 25-16, 25-19.

“We don’t really get the jitters in big games,” Eastland senior Megan Bunyer said. “It just pumps us up more to play.”

Bunyer and Katelyn Hasken combined to wear down Le-Win outside. Bunyer had seven kills, with Hasken adding six.

“The coaches told us the best spots to hit the ball and that was all I was trying to do,” Hasken, a junior, said. “This is the postseason. We have to be focused now and be ready to play all the time.”

The first game was back-and-forth early and was tied 6-6. Eastland (36-2) scored 11 of the next 14 points behind strong serving from Hasken, Katelyn Dickman and Kaitlyn Bissell.

“I was actually a little worried with the way the match started,” Eastland coach Kristy Pierce said. “We usually get a few points from our first server and she didn’t get any.

“But the other girls picked her up and we got on a roll.”

Eastland junior Courtney Blair was a force in the middle. In Game 2, the reigning SVN player of the year had four kills and six blocks.

“We liked the outside matchups so well that they were getting a lot of the hits,” Pierce said. “Courtney did a nice job setting herself up and defending the net.”

The second game was tied 9-9 before Eastland went on a 12-4 run to take a commanding 21-13 lead.

Blair finished with eight kills and seven blocks. Hope Linker led Eastland with 16 assists. Anna Modica led Le-Win (30-8) with seven kills, and Alyssa Matz had 11 assists.

Eastland will play Orion at 7 p.m. Thursday in the sectional final. The Chargers defeated Orangeville 25-20, 25-22 in Tuesday’s opening match.

“We hadn’t seen them at all until tonight,” Pierce said. “They look like they have a couple of excellent hitters. It’ll be a tough match.”