All charged up: Cougars KO Orion, win team’s sixth sectional crown
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| Eastland senior Karissa Pierce holds up the sectional championship plaque Thursday after the Cougars defeated Orion at the Class 1A Eastland Sectional in Lanark. At left is Pierce’s mother, Eastland coach Kristy Pierce. (Chris Padgett/cpadgett@svnmail.com) |
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LANARK – All year long the Eastland Cougars have been talking about playing their brand of volleyball and letting the chips fall where they may.
Those chips sprayed all over the Orion Chargers on Thursday night.
Eastland used its usual mix of back-row defense and strong hitting in the Class 1A Eastland Sectional final, then added a vicious serving game to take out Orion 25-8, 25-14.
“Serving was a main point for us tonight,” said Eastland junior Katelyn Hasken, who had six of the Cougars’ 11 aces. “We were really aggressive.”
Eastland (37-2) got off to its typical fast start, taking an 11-1 lead before the Chargers (31-7) recorded their first kill. Setter Hope Linker served two of her three aces in the first five points of the match, then found hitters Megan Bunyer (8 kills), Courtney Blair (7 kills, 2 blocks), Hasken (6 kills) and Karissa Pierce (4 kills, 1 block) to get the offense into gear.
“It felt awesome out there tonight; all the hitters terminated the ball so well,” said Linker, who had 23 assists, 10 points, three aces, two blocks and a tip kill. “Even if the set wasn’t perfect, the girls found a way to hit the ball and find the floor with it.”
The Cougars out-killed Orion 29-6 and served for 35 points to Orion’s 7.
“Everywhere the pass goes, Hope is there,” Blair said, “and wherever she sets it, somebody is there to hit it hard. When we put it all together, it usually works out great for us.”
After the early blitz in Game 1, the Chargers battled back early in Game 2. They led three times in the match, the last coming at 4-3 after Maddie DePorter’s kill.
But Eastland again had the answer. Carissa Gruhn had a kill and a block, then Hasken served another ace and Linker stuffed a block. A Bunyer kill and a Katelyn Dickman ace gave Eastland a 12-8 lead, then another Bunyer kill made it 13-9.
Linker then served an ace that caromed between two Orion players. After initially being called out of bounds, the call was reversed, drawing the ire of the Chargers faithful.
That seemed to spark the Cougars, as Blair followed Pierce’s tip-kill with three kills smashed straight down to the floor in the middle, and another Pierce tip made it 20-10. Hasken closed things out, fittingly, with an ace, and the celebration was on.
“That’s what it can look like when we get into system and get into rhythm,” Pierce said with a smile. “Our defense is a huge part of our success, the key that allows our offense to get going, and the back row came up big tonight.”
DePorter led Orion with four kills, and Brittany Scott had five points. Kayla Foweler stuffed a pair of blocks.
“They run their offense faster than anybody we’ve seen all year,” Orion coach Jack Wheeler said. “When you can pass precisely enough to get the ball to your setter in rhythm and so quickly every time, it’s hard to react to that and get into the right spots to stop it.”
Star of the match: Katelyn Hasken, Eastland, 8 points, 6 aces, 6 kills
Key performers: Hope Linker, Eastland, 23 assists, 10 points, 3 aces, 2 blocks; Megan Bunyer, Eastland, 8 kills; Courtney Blair, Eastland, 7 kills, 2 blocks; Maddie DePorter, Orion, 4 kills
Up next: 1A S. Beloit Supersectional, Eastland vs. Newark, 7 p.m. Saturday
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