DRAGON SLAYER WU LEADS THE TOP TO VICTORY
The season opener for both levels gave the SHS fans a lot of entertainment yesterday as JV struggled in set 1 to stay competitive but found a way to battle and come from 2 down late in set 2 to take the win and force a decisive set 3. The decisive set saw the Top trail midway through the set but key kills by Miles, Hurlburt, and Meltzer created by consistent location sets by Moghal helped keep the home side within striking distance as the match went along. Mirliss, Armstrong and Colon were particularly consistent on serve receive which helped Summit generate those offensive opportunities!
Late in the decisive set 3, KP had managed to generate a string of points late which put them within striking distance of the victory. But then the Dragon killer Wu stepped up to the service line and for the 2nd time in 2 seasons, the OH ran a multi-point string of serves (3 aces) at the end of a decisive set which not only erased the deficit but led to Summit's first victory of the season in dramatic fashion!
VARSITY LOSES KEY PLAYERS BUT FIGHT VALIANTLY IN LOSS TO DRAGONS
The Hilltoppers started the 2024 season on a very positive note. Early on the Top jumped out to a 6-3 lead after a Herring block which sparked a 5-1 Summit run which saw A. Feuerstake hit for 2 aces and Ge notch a kill to fuel the run that had the home side up 11-4. SHS maintained the lead through the latter stages of the set as A. Feuerstake and Welsh hit on back to back kills to give Summit a 17-11 lead. Another set of kills by Ge and A. Feuerstake forced a TO by the Dragons at 19-12. Despite a visitor late run which cut the lead down to 4 at 20-16, Summit rebounded with a kill by N. Feuerstake and Welsh who also added an ace to push the lead to an insurmountable 24-16 lead which soon became the final score of set 1 of 25-19.
Set 2 saw the Dragons rebound nicely striking for a 5-0 run early fueled by poor receiving by the Top which forced a TO by the home side trailing 3-8. Off the TO, Summit out-scored the visitors by an 8-3 margin (N Feuerstake and Welsh kills) fueled by their own serving and defensive plays to know the set at 11. But in this set, it was the team that could get that last run of points which was going to determine who would survive and KP struck first with a 7-3 run to hold an 18-14 lead which was then answered by Summit's 3-0 run to get within one at 17-18 (N Feuerstake and Nowicka kills). But the Dragons woould get that last decisive run, a 6-2 stretch late which allowed the visitors to close it out 25-21 and push the match to a 3rd set. But the story of the set was really the loss of OH1 and primary passer Ge to a calf strain which would alter the receive and offensive patterns of the Lady Hilltoppers.
Set 3 saw the early impact of the Ge loss as Summit was down 4-0 fairly quickly and adding injury to insult, MB1 Devaney landed on the the foot of the opposing middle on a block and was lost for the rest of the match, meaning that the Hilltoppers would be down 2 starters in this crucial 3rd set. Although the squad was down 2-5, the team rallied together and after a tough service run by Devaney sub MB Deyonge, the Top was tied at 5. Summit kept weathering mini-runs by the Dragons and fighting back each time but things looked bleak at 16-11 down as the offense was struggling to generate points due to the missing players and a stingy KP defense.
But then a hitting error by the visitors opened the door for SHS to get back in the match. Handal hit a bullet from the end line and her serve was mishandled leading to a free ball error and then she chalked up an ace to get SHS to within 2 at 14-16. Unfortunately, the Dragons earned 5 of the next 6 points and led 21-15 and the match looked out of reach. Henry passed up a tough serve and the Top proceeded to attack 3 consecutive times through Nowicka but to no avail as the Dragons kept the play alive through multiple emergency plays. FINALLY, Welsh ended the point with a pin point back set for a kill which caught the visitors by surprise and SHS trailed 21-17. Henry ....ace.... Deyonge .... kill ... 21-19 and the crowd into the match... TO KP.... Henry... ace ... 21-20...
Kent Place finally broke serve on a SHS hitting error and despite the boost of energy, an errant 2nd contact and an ace by the Dragons had all but sealed the fate of the Top as the scoreboard read 24-20 Visitors. But yet again a service error by the visitors provided a glimmer of hope that the Summit crew latched onto late in the match. Welsh got a short serve over and in, 24-22... Welsh rips one to zone 5 for the ace... 24-23... Welsh puts a tough serve to 5 again but this time Kent Place got to run their go to set to the middle.... this time though, they hit a wall named Deyonge who got the Top to 24-24... TO KP... Crowd LOUD!
Despite the heroic effort, the home team fell to KP 26-24 in a hard fought match that saw the Hilltoppers play the entire decisive set without 2 of their top offensive threats but yet persevered through the adverse conditions to give themselves a shot to win.
MATCH STATS: BEASTS - BY THE NUMBERS:
ACE - Welsh 4
SERVE RATING (at least 7% of team attempts) - Welsh 2.40, Henry 2.40
SERVE % (at least 7% of team attempts) - Henry 100, Devaney 100
PASS RATING (1.8 or higher) - Henry 2.13
PERFECT PASSES - Henry 8
KILLS - Ge 5
EFFICIENCY (at least 10% of team attempts)- Ge .556, Welsh .500
KILL % (at least 10% of team attempts) - Ge 55.6, Welsh 50.0
DIGS - Henry 10, Ge 6
BLOCKS - Deyonge, Herring, Welsh 1
ASSISTS - Welsh 18
***TOP POINT SCORERS (Kills, Aces, Blocks***)
Welsh 9, A. Feuerstake 6
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