Slinger — Something unusual happened at Slinger on Thursday night, and Hartford women’s volleyball coach Shannon Klink had to ponder when the last time it happened.
It was when the Orioles considered going 5-0 to remain undefeated in North Shore Conference play with a 25-18, 25-10, 19-25, 2523 dual meet win over rival Owls. .
“We talk about mindset all the time,” says Clink. The energy was building all night so it was really special that we took them home, especially when they won 4 (sets).
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this in the 10 years I’ve been with us. It’s always like five sets in this match.”
Orioles senior setter and co-captain Taylor Katz had 32 assists in the win.
“We always love challenges,” she said. “It was a great match. We couldn’t have done it without everyone involved.”
Slinger coach Chelsea Vetterkind, who was down to 32 men for the North Shore game, regretted the Owls’ late start and added another player to the Slinger line-up could make a big difference. I said yes.
“I told the girls it took too long to get started,” she said. “We need to go out and make things happen.”
Betterkind said the team had to completely revamp its processes in the past two weeks because junior outside hitter/libero Melia Johnson needed to “rest her body.”
“Most teams are a month and a half into the season and have their lineups set,” she said. “We changed things up a lot and had to start over two weeks ago.”
And that lack of continuity showed up early in the game against Hartford. was 11. Up-and-coming freshman star Ally Bears did his best to keep the Owls in the first set, with nine of his match-high 22 kills, but Slinger did his best to keep him in the first set for the rest of the set. Only managed to get 3 kills.
Hartford picked up momentum in the second session, leading 6-3,
After that, they scored 11 consecutive points to take a 17-3 lead. A few slinger errors and a healthy Hartford block ran as paced by senior Taylor Nolte and sophomore Katie Kuchever.
In the third set, however, the owls regained their footing. In an effort that went back and forth many long rallies, Slinger took complete control, breaking his 15-15 draw with his 7-2 run. Beers got two kills on that push.
That led to a spectacular fourth set in which the energetic, boisterous crowd roared throughout. 10-6 advantage. In a set featuring many long rallies with excellent saves and digs, the Orioles held the Owls at arm’s length most of the way.
In fact, the owls never folded their wings and hid in their nests, even though they seemed to be in complete control at 19-12. The eiers and fellow freshman outside hitter Miley Quade liven up the rally.
Two kills for three points by Nolte made Hartford look poised to close out the game at 22-17, but Beals scored the last four points for a comeback with three kills and a block, so the slinger was the only one to win. scored 6 of the following 7 points.
However, the game was tied 23-all and the Orioles eventually escaped and went on to win behind two slinger errors.
“That fourth set was great,” Katz said. “It felt like everything mattered at once. Everything at once. It was just amazing!”
Clink, whose team has played several games like this this season Already, we hope the Orioles take it easy on themselves.
“What can I say?” she said. “It’s a rivalry. The girls worked hard this week (we also beat Nicolette in League Dual on Sept. 20). We tried to stay focused and slow things down, but to No. 6 (Beale) I was really focused.
“She’s an exceptional player and got kills, but I think we held her back.”
Vetterkind, whose team hosts a qualifying tournament for a strong West Best Sprawl on Saturday, is focused on the positive.
“Our team is relatively young with seven seniors, three juniors and four freshmen,” she said.
Hartford had 15 kills led by Joel Melsheimer and Tess Freitag had 8 kills. Libero Kim Busateri recorded his 37 digs.
Clink said the Orioles have no time to rest on their laurels. They’ll be back in Slinger soon for Saturday’s Sprawl Qualifier.
“And I could see them (owls) again,” she laughed.
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