Wolverine pride stands tall
Weiser sweeps tri-match over Ontario and Nampa Christian
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 12:17 PM PDT
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| Ray Rodriguez | Argus Observer
Weiser’s Cori Martin (left) soars through the air for a return against Nampa Christian during Tuesday’s tri-match in Ontario. Weiser kicked off the night with resounding 25-17 and 25-13 wins over the Trojans and dusted off Ontario 25-19 and 25-16. |
Ontario—Chris Courter said her team considered Tuesday redemption day.
If Tuesday’s matches were any indication, the Weiser volleyball team is exactly where it needs to be.
The Wolverines swept past Nampa Christian and Ontario on their way to an undefeated evening in a tri-meet match at Ontario High School.
“It was kind of a redemption game because when we played Nampa Christian at the Kuna Tournament, we didn’t show up for it,” Courter said. “I think they were rather surprised how well we played tonight. They really did. They played such a fantastic game. They were hitting on all cylinders, and they looked good.”
Weiser kicked off the night with resounding 27-25 and 25-13 wins over the Trojans and dusted off Ontario 25-19 and 25-16.
Against Nampa Christian, newcomer Cori Martin dropped seven kills, and Ana Overgaard kicked in five kills in the sweep.
Against Ontario, Weiser faced a 1-0 deficit in the first game and never fell behind for the rest of the match.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-1 lead, and the deft serves of Martin, who canned two straight aces helped to give Weiser the 6-1 cushion.
Ontario crept as close a 10-7 on a service ace by Kendra Babcock, and Weiser rebounded with a 15-12 spurt to take the first game, 25-19.
In the second game, the Wolverines had control throughout, jumping in with a 10-5 lead early on.
The lead swelled to 16-8 and 20-11, but Ontario crept to 20-13 after a kill by Babcock and an ace by Jordan Barnett.
With the score 23-16, Richins finished off the Tigers with a pair of aces.
Ontario squared off with Nampa Christian and stumbled out of the gates with a 25-12 loss and battled tough against the Trojans in the second game before losing 25-22.
In the first game, Nampa Christian cruised to an easy 6-1 run and rattled off a rally to jump out to a 21-7 lead.
Ontario’s Erika Hopper stopped the flurry with a service aces but Ontario was down 21-8, and Nampa Christian won the opener 25-12.
In the second game, the Trojans held leads of 4-2, 7-3 and 11-5, but Ontario crept closer with a 6-1 spurt to come within 12-11.
Both teams traded points and furious rallies and the battle turned out an 18-17 game with the Trojans clinging to the lead.
Nampa Christian saw its lead swell to 24-17, but Ontario went on a 5-0 run, and the score was 24-22.
Nampa Christian clinched the match on an unforced error.
Ontario coach Katie Branch boiled down the tough evening to getting her team mentally prepared.
“Just the mental toughness of it all and being able to battle rally after rally after rally, and bouncing back after a couple of mistakes,” Branch said. “A couple of things, having that toughness and keeping that positive attitude and just being consistent. They have to be willing to rise to the challenge.”
Ontario (0-2 overall) hosts Vale Thursday, and Weiser (2-0 overall) travels to Baker.
