Huron defeats Whitmer for Spiketacular Gold title

SANDUSKY — Don Wood likes a good challenge. The Huron volleyball program under Wood has sought out the toughest opponents year after year. The Tigers got a little taste of that Saturday, taking down Division I Toledo Whitmer to win the Gold Bracket at the Summer Spiketacular at Cedar Point Sports Center. Huron, which finished the two-day event with a record of 9-0, won 25-14, 22-25, 15-11 in the best-of-3 format. Whitmer is the largest school in Northwest Ohio. "That's a really good team," said Wood of the Panthers,who compete in the Northern Lakes League. "To beat them anytime, whether a scrimmage, real match or summer tournament, is a good thing. I think we learned some things today in the sets that we lost or how we lost them. "It's fun to win it, but most importantly, we learned some important things." The Tigers return a bevy of hitters that include Mya Smith, Jada Foster, Paige Johnson and Jenna Cox. The Huron offense flowed seamlessly through setter Reece Hotz. The junior fed Johnson twice for tip kills and Foster twice for a tip and swinging kill as the Tigers toppled the Panthers in a lengthy battle. "We started off strong and our passing was great," Hotz said. "The hitters were doing awesome. We connected the whole weekend. We never took a point off. We were strong and consistent." Huron never trailed in the first set, scoring the first six points of the match. In the second set, the Tigers led 20-17 and 22-20, but couldn't close the deal. Huron went up 9-6 in the third set when Whitmer used a timeout. Along with the kills from Johnson and Foster, Adelyn Van Sickle served up an ace to help the Tigers win. "We have a lot of choices for Reece," Wood said. "The No. 1 thing is we have to pass and pass consistently. We don't necessarily do that just yet. We're working on it." Huron opened the day with wins over North Royalton (25-20, 25-18) and Vermilion (25-18, 25-16). The Tigers drew Perkins in the Gold quarterfinals, defeating the Pirates 25-21, 25-22. In the semifinals, Huron topped Heritage (Ind.) 25-16, 24-26, 15-10. Despite it only being a three-set match, the final two matches of the day against Heritage and Toledo Whitmer gave the Tigers some Set 5 experience that could come in handy during the regular season. "It was about learning how to handle these types of situations," Wood said. "We'll get more of it Monday and Tuesday. They need a day off. They've been in this gym since Monday. We need some time." After that day off, Huron will compete in the second Spiketacular on Monday and Tuesday at CPSC. The Tigers face Canton GlenOak, West Branch and South Range to open pool play. "We want to see consistency," Wood said. "We had some situations where we gave up a handful of points in a row for silly reasons. We just have to find a way to stop that. That has to be done." After a late loss Friday to New Lexington, Perkins responded early Saturday. The Pirates defeated fellow Northern Ohio Conference member Clyde (25-21, 25-18) before a win over Canfield (25-22, 19-25, 15-11). Despite just one loss in six pool play matches, Perkins got a rough bracket draw against Huron. "I was more pleased with the loss against Huron than some of the wins against the other teams," Pirates coach Brandon Duvall said. "I think there are some things we have to be now. We have to be physical and we have to be tough. I have to remember we are starting some pretty young girls. I have to be patient with some of the development." The Pirates were right there against Huron. Perkins will get a chance to run it back with the Tigers in a NOC crossover match Oct. 8. That will give Duvall a chance to see how much progress his team makes from now until then. "It is mid-July right now," Duvall said. "Playing them and seeing them, I thought the match was pretty good. I think they definitely bested us in some areas of the game, but especially hitting. Mya is a pretty impressive player. "We'll see how we develop and get some of the girls we have up to speed." The Pirates finished the two-day event with a record of 5-2. Perkins lost to last year's Division V state runner-up (New Lexington) and Spiketacular champion (Huron). The Pirates return for Monday and Tuesday's second event, facing Geneva, Triway and Avon Lake. "We'll have a day off," Duvall said. "I told them to relax and be a human. Enjoy the day, but we have to get right back to work. We don't get a practice. We don't get to sit down and talk about it. We have to make some adjustments on the fly. "We were very clear on what we needed to be better at." Vermilion saw its day end in the semifinals of the Silver bracket. The Sailors ran into a tough Stow team, which eliminated the Sailors 25-16, 25-15. It didn't bring down Vermilion coach Sawyer Schaefer, who saw a lot of great things from his team. "I think we tend to play at the level of whoever is across the net from us," Schaefer said. "What we are focusing on the most is making sure we are doing our jobs and that we are setting higher standards for ourselves and our programs." The Sailors took down Clyde (26-24, 25-21) in the quarterfinals. That came after losses to Huron and Mariemont (29-27, 21-25, 15-13) in pool play. Vermilion ended the two days with a record of 3-5, three of the five losses coming in three sets. "We can compete with some of those teams like we did Huron earlier," Schaefer said. "It was nice to see that and for the girls to see that and know they have the confidence that they can compete at that level. It takes that hard work and effort to raise that standard." Clyde had a tough day Friday, but it was even tougher Saturday. While never really getting run off the court, the Fliers went 0-3, finishing the two-day event with a record of 1-6. "Looking at the weekend as whole, there were a lot more positives in my mind than negatives, which is good," Clyde coach Shelley Rogers said. "We have a freshman that is new to the group and a setter that is now one of our hitters. She's doing a good job. "We're just trying to figure it out. I think they know what they need to do." After the loss to Perkins, the Fliers lost to New Lexington (25-14, 25-16). That was followed by the Silver bracket quarterfinal loss to Vermilion. "We need to be able to pull ourselves out. The energy needs to remain at all times on the court," Rogers said. "I think our problem is we get these leads and then we get comfy. In a sense, we need to learn not to be comfy. We need to ready for anything that is going to come back over." The Fliers will welcome in Bowling Green State University as part of their team camp next week. The regular season starts in less than a month. "We need to fine-tune our blocking, which will help out our defense," Rogers said. "Brynlee Mussell in the back row does a phenomenal job. We just need to learn to trust her back there. She's a little bit on the quieter side. She's going to be great for us this year. "If we can help her out at the net and fine-tune our blocks, I feel like we're there where we need to be."