Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Volleyball: E.C. Glass ends Hidden Valley's season
Kim Amerell and Meg Kenny are too formidable for the Titans in the quarterfinals.
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LYNCHBURG -- Facing an E.C. Glass team on Tuesday that had lost only twice this season -- and in front of the Hilltoppers' electric crowd, it should go without saying that Hidden Valley was in for a battle if the Titans wanted a spot in the Group AA state volleyball semifinals.
Fighting for every point, the Titans (20-5) came up short, falling to the Hilltoppers 25-21, 27-25, 25-23.
Early on, the Titans looked like they were capable of handling the pressure, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Slowly, though, the Hilltoppers' imposing front line began to assert itself. A Kim Amerell spike followed by a pair of Meg Kenny aces tied the score at 5.
The powerful combination of Amerell and Kenny at the net and from the service line gave the Titans problems all night.
"I knew that [Amerell] was really powerful ... their serving was really what got us out of our game. They had some really hard serves and that threw us out of our offense a little bit." Titans coach Carla Poff said. "What do you say when every game is two points?"
Two points in particular made the difference in Game 2. With the Hilltoppers (25-2) serving and the game tied at 25, Amerell rocketed two aces past the Titans for a 2-0 lead in the match. Though they never trailed by more than five points and mounted rally after rally, the Titans never gained a comfortable edge.
"We just couldn't push over that hump to get that extra point," Hidden Valley senior Samantha Klosterman said. When it's tied up like that you need to push to get those couple points to push in front, but we just never got that.
With just two seniors on the roster, the young Titans were cool under pressure, responding again and again despite the hostile environment.
"This is the biggest student section we've ever had, and it was the loudest game," Titan senior Samantha Ringer said. "We couldn't even hear ourselves think half the time, but it was a fun atmosphere."
Though the season is over, both seniors were proud of how they played and what they accomplished this season.
"We just needed to be more aggressive. We played a really great game," Klosterman said.
"It's been successful. I mean 20-5, you can't ask for more," Ringer added.
