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Marion finishes 2nd at Centre tournament

Staff writer

For the third consecutive year, the Marion High School volleyball team faced Little River in the final of the Centre Volleyball Invitational Tournament Saturday. The past two years they won the tournament; they lost on Saturday 12-25, 25-21, and 21-25.

The roles of the two teams were reversed. Marion was the young and up-and-coming squad and Little River was the veteran group.

Coach Jim Versch said the difference in talent from Little River and the rest of the teams in the tournament was striking.

The Warriors had won matches with Tescott, 25-11 and 25-10; White City, 25-11 and 25-13; and Centre, 25-27, 25-11, and 25-19 in pool play. They went on to defeat Herington in consecutive games in the semifinal match, 25-17 and 25-21.

The Warriors gave up a 22-12 lead against Centre in the first game of that match but Versch was still sure that the Warriors were in control. In the next game, Whitney Gordon slammed in the first Marion points and then the Warriors opened a 7-2 advantage on the Cougars off Raelene Allen’s serving.

“All day, we pretty much had our way,” Versch said.

The Marion dominance ended against Little River who featured four dynamic hitters and a libero who was a volleyball vacuum — everything hit near her was converted into a pass.

The things the Warriors had done right all day were not as effective against the Redskins.

The Warriors continued to pass well in their match against Little River.

Gordon, Annie Whitaker, Katey Ehrlich, Raelene Allen, Chassidy Carlson, and Megan Richmond showed prowess in corralling opposing teams’ hits and serves throughout the day. However, the hits by Briana Hall, Whitaker, and Gordon, set up by those passes, did not hit the hardwood as often against the Redskins.

Versch said Gordon’s passing was especially savvy for an accomplished hitter.

“She’s going to play some back row. I love to play her there,” he said. “In basketball, it’s like a forward who can dribble and shoot.”

The Warriors jump serving had been devastating in earlier matches. Ehrlich, whose unpredictable top spin serve has befuddled many teams, Allen, Carlson, and Gordon all had serving streaks of five or more in previous matches. Aces were common earlier in the day but not against a prepared Little River defense.

Versch was pleased with the Warriors ability to get serves in bounds; there were few faults on Saturday.

Overall, Versch said the Warriors were tested against a good team, but the team continues to improve. Whitaker has emerged as a third hitter for the Warriors and freshmen Richmond, Ehrlich, and Kaelyn Thierolf all saw significant playing time.

“A lot of these girls weren’t in this situation last year,” Versch said.

Centre

The Centre High School volleyball team placed fourth at the Centre Volleyball Invitational Tournament.

“They didn’t like settling for fourth place,” coach Yvonne Burhoop said.

The Cougars defeated White City, 25-17 and 25-14, and Tescott, 25-6 and 25-13 in pool play. Although Centre lost to Marion, 27-25, 25-11, and 25-19, the Cougars came back from a 21-12 deficit in the first game against the Warriors. Libero Amanda Floyd had an eight-serve streak to allow Centre to climb back into the game and eventually take the lead.

Eventual tournament champion Little River defeated the Cougars, 16-25 and 23-25 in the semifinals. The Cougars knotted the score at 23 in the second game, but allowed the Redskins to score the final two points.

In the third-place match, the Cougars lost to Herington, 25-15, 19-25, and 17-25. Cacey Simons had a serving streak of eight against the Railers in the first game.

“We have very smart servers,” Burhoop said.

However, Burhoop thought the Cougars were overly cerebral in other parts of the game and became tentative.

“I don’t want them to have to think,” Burhoop said. “They’re looking around and looking at me. You don’t need me to chew your butt.”

Burhoop believes the Cougars’ inexperience led to losses against Little River and Herington. At times, Centre has five freshmen and sophomores on the court.

Burhoop was pleased with the Cougars young hitters — Simons, Anna Weber, and Bryanna Svoboda. Svoboda was the first Cougar freshman to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.

Burhoop also thought the Cougars passed well.

“You can never be too good at passing,” Burhoop said.

While the Cougars have been inconsistent, Burhoop believes they have the will to be great.

“You want to go play on Mars, they’d play on Mars,” she said.

Last modified Sept. 16, 2010

 

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