Thursday's high school highlights (9/18)
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By Shannon Heaton | Tuesday, September 23, 2008 |
Volleyball
Moline def. United Township, 2 sets to 0
The skinny: Moline smashed 24 kills – nearly half its point production on the night – and served up eight aces in a 25-13, 25-14 Western Big 6 victory for the Maroons (10-0, 3-0 WB6).
The keys: Solid setting and distribution from junior Sarah Fetter, who handed out 19 assists in a match that was just under an hour in length. Halie Ecker had 10 kills to lead the way, but two other Maroon hitters – Marquisha Harris and Kathi Hinz – added five.
The quotes: “Tonight, we were more consistent throughout the night. That was one of our focuses – to find a little more consistency rather than having dips. (Wednesday) we did a drill for better coverage (defensively) and we had kids committed to coverage. We had some nice transitions from defensive coverage to offense.” – Moline coach Tim Albrecht.
“We came out strong like we hoped we would. You have to be a leader on the court (as a setter), and if everyone does their job, it (distributing the ball) gets easier. If everyone’s doing their job, it all works out well.” – Fetter.
“The workouts we do in volleyball help me jump higher (for basketball) and running the mile (during practice times) helps with endurance and speed.” – Harris, on how volleyball prepares her for basketball season.
“We need to work really hard on our consistency. We’re not really moving our feet and we didn’t execute what we’re capable of executing. We have strong hitters, and we couldn’t use them.” – UT coach Tiffany Denys.
The twist: It wasn’t all disappointment for the Panthers, at least not for all of them. Setter Kayla Matya got an unexpected bonus from the night, when UT sophomore Brandon VanHerzeele – with the aid of four friends, all body-painted in Panther colors – asked her to the Panthers’ Homecoming dance a week from Saturday. Matya, who already had a dress in hand for the event, said yes with a hug.
Rock Island def. Rock Island Alleman, 2 sets to 0
The skinny: The Rocks’ athleticism was too much for the Pioneers in the other local Western Big 6 match scheduled Thursday night, as Rock Island defeated Alleman by a pair of identical 25-22 scores.
The keys: Finding another hitting option to go with senior Genesis Johnson. Right now, that option appears to be Kayla Daugherty, who added six kills as a counterpoint to Johnson’s eight.
The twist: The Rocks (10-3, 1-1 WB6) ramped up their defense, again with Daugherty’s key contribution (seven digs). Rocky libero Stacey Crosby led the team with 12 digs.
Bettendorf def. Clinton, 3 sets to 1
The skinny: After dropping the first set, 25-21, to the River Queens, Bettendorf seized the momentum immediately with a 25-15 second-set win and didn’t look back, taking the final two sets 25-20 and 25-23.
The keys: Bettendorf ran its 6-2 offense with good results, as both setters – Chrissie McGaffigan and Natalie Weis – achieved along the front line and as distributors. McGaffigan had eight kills and 19 assists, with Weis adding six kills and eight assists.
The twist: Clinton’s Sarah Wenzel was strong in defeat, leading the River Queens in kills (11) and digs (23).
Pleasant Valley def. North Scott, 3 sets to 0
The skinny: The Spartans improved to 2-1 in MAC play (11-3 overall) behind stellar defensive work, defeating the Lancers, 25-13, 25-14 and 25-18.
The keys: Courtney Linn, Jordan Strawser and Lindsey Jipp combined for 33 digs in the match; Strawser and Jipp gave plenty of attack assistance to Spartan offensive giant Annie Czarnecki, combining for 10 kills behind Czarnecki’s 11.
The twist: After struggling with Central’s serve on Tuesday night, the Lancers still struggled with serve receive, giving up three aces apiece to Czarnecki and Peyton Strawser.
West def. North, 3 sets to 0
The skinny: The Falcons moved beyond the .500 mark in MAC play, sweeping the Wildcats, 25-20, 25-14 and 25-13.
The keys: West was able to overcome North’s attack, as the Wildcats scored 36 of their 47 points in the match via either the successful attack or service ace.
The twist: Despite the sweep, North did put up some decent defensive numbers, as Amber Prieto and Stacie Kammerer combined for 25 digs on the night.
Girls’ swimming and diving
Bettendorf 127, Dubuque Senior 66
The skinny: The Rams won three individual events, but Bettendorf’s balance – the Bulldogs went 1-2-3 in three events – carried the day in a nonconference dual in the Bettendorf pool.
The keys: Bettendorf showed its depth in impressive fashion, with some of its stars swimming a reduced schedule. Sam Molsberrywas the Bulldogs’ only triple winner, with legs on the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay and a first in the 100-yard breaststroke.
The twist: With Cat Vercillo and Rebecca Alves going 1-2 in the 500 freestyle, the Bulldog team owns the five fastest 500 free times in the Quad-Cities. Vercillo’s 5:42.78 moved her into second overall (Paula Coryn swam 5:35.05 against Muscatine on Tuesday) and Alves’ 5:46.99 ranked her 5th.
United Township 113, Rock Island 65
The skinny: The Panthers finished 1-2-3 in three events and won all but two in a rout of their Western Big 6 rivals.
The keys: Moving some swimmers around to unfamiliar territory didn’t faze UT, as Alyssa Busch (100 breaststroke), Gabrielle VanSpeybroeck (100 free) and Erin Willhite (100 back) all got wins in what had been their first attempts of the season in those events.
The twist: Rock Island got two wins from senior Jenna Nevins, who swam the butterfly third leg in the 200 medley relay and came back to win the 200 IM just two events later.
Metro boys’ golf
Central 147, Bettendorf 150
The skinny: In a meet that could foreshadow the competitiveness at the top of the MAC, the Blue Devils overcame the Bulldogs in a 3-shot win.
The keys: All four Central golfers went under 38, with Mitch Soltau sharing medalist honors with Bettendorf’s Matt Solis. Both golfers fired 1-over 36s.
The twist: Like the Blue Devils, all of Bettendorf’s scoring four went under 40, a rare feat for a dual-losing side.
Moline 143, Alleman 154
The skinny: Mitchell Medinger’s 1-under-par round of 34 lifted the Maroons to an 11-shot win at Indian Bluff.
The keys: Star golfers going very low was big for Moline; in addition to Medinger’s round, both Jon Grchan and Nathan Moore carded 1-over 36s for the Maroons (6-0).
The twist: Freshman Thomas Bohnert led the Pioneers with a 2-over 37, one of the few meets this season where juniors Peter Callas or Mark Benfield didn’t have the low round.
Galesburg 144, United Township 188
The skinny: All four Silver Streak scoring golfers go below 40 in a rout of the Panthers.
The keys: Corey Verseman shoots a fine 35 for the Streaks, who stayed unbeaten in duals at 15-0.
The twist: All four Galesburg scorers would have been No. 1s for UT, which was led by Nathan Berglund’s 44.
Metro girls’ golf
Rock Island triangular
The skinny: Home cooking meant low scores for both Rock Island Alleman (164) and Rock Island (177), both of whom topped Galesburg in a triangular meet at Saukie Golf Course.
The keys: Alleman’s Katie Moore won medalist honors with a 3-over 35, while Kelsey Kernan’s 41 paced the Rocks.
The twist: Abby Frideres was at least seven shots better than the pair of other No. 2 golfers, thanks to a solid 5-over 37.
Area volleyball aces
Rebels routed: Despite 12 kills from Northeast’s Danika Loots, Preston proved itself too strong for the Rebel attack, defeating Northeast in straight sets, 25-14, 25-23 and 25-10.
Trio brings down Tipton: Durant front-liners McKensey Reid (17 kills, six blocks), Makenzie Mayer (10-3) and Renee Telsrow (9-6) lifted the Wildcats to a five-set (15-7 in the fifth) victory over Tipton.
Hanging in the hunt: West Liberty improved to 2-1 in Cedar Valley Conference play with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-12 victory over Wilton. Kira Yoder had seven kills and 19 digs for the Comets in the victory.
All-out warfare: East Central and Calamus/Wheatland had to push to a fifth set before East Central pounded out a 15-6 set win to take the match. The Grays, Bailey and Sydney, combined for 14 service aces.
Offense, defense from Rankin: L&M got nine kills and six digs from Meghan Rankin in a 26-24, 25-20, 25-15 sweep of Iowa Mennonite.
Taylor-made: Prophetstown pulled out another three-set win in Three Rivers Conference play, stopping Erie 25-19 in the third set behind 16 kills and 12 digs from Taylor Gallentine.
Bringin’ da Munck: Fulton’s Kelsey Munck had a strong all-court performance in the Steamers’ three-set win over Sterling Newman, with eight kills, three aces and seven digs in the victory.
Fillies fulfilled: Erin Carney paced the Morrison offense with eight kills as the Fillies overcame a second-set loss to defeat Amboy, 25-21, in a decisive TRAC-8 third set.
Area golf sand saves
Big round for Mighell: In a key NCIC quadrangular meet, Geneseo’s Taylor Mighell carded a 36 – one shot shy of medalist honors – to lead the Maple Leafs to a nine-shot victory over Streator, 153-162. Mendota was third at 163 and LaSalle-Peru fourth at 170.
Vandersee, Fiorini carry Warrior girls: Though Sterling star Ember Schuldt shared medalist honors with her round of 42 on Wednesday, it was the rounds of teammates Megan Vandersee (43) and Alex Fiorini (48) to a 186-202 win over Princeton at Emerald Hills GC. Prophetstown was fourth at 240.
Area girls' tennis winners
Tough times for Leaf girls: Geneseo won just one set – at No. 1 doubles, only to have Dixon’s duo come back in a third-set super-tiebreaker and win. That was as close as the Leafs got in a 9-0 loss to the Duchesses.
Warriors turn in sterling effort: Sterling lost just 10 games – five singles and five doubles – over the course of nine matches in a 9-0 rout of Galesburg. No. 1 singles player Bari Reynolds didn’t lose a single game on the day, in either singles or doubles.
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