Huron sweeps Archbold to move to regional round

ATTICA — Huron swept Archbold for the second straight year in a Division V district final to move on to the Sweet 16. Tigers coach Don Wood did not expect that. "Everybody here knows how good they are," he said. "It's the same team we played last year. They're all back and they're better. "That's a great win over a very, very good team. I was real happy with our girls keeping their composure and a level head the whole match. Even when we weren't playing great, they just kept playing and worried about the next play." Huron swept the formidable Blue Streaks 25-18, 25-23, 25-20. The Tigers also put close to the same lineup on the court for the second straight year at Seneca East High School. The Tigers, ranked No. 3 in the state, improved to 22-3 with its 16th straight win. Archbold saw its seven-match winning streak end and finished with a 21-4 record. Huron trailed in every set, but won the match in part by keeping the ball in play. Archbold committed twice as many errors that led to points. "We preach that. We limited hitting errors," Wood said. "If this (stat sheet) is right, we had 10 hitting errors in a three-set match. Especially in a tight three sets, I'll take 10 anytime. I kind of shoot for under 15." Huron junior middle hitter Jada Foster had her hands on the volleyball to finish off all three sets. She finished with 10 kills and two blocks a year after leading Huron with 11 kills against Archbold. "It was definitely a very exciting game," Foster said. "Staying strong in any game is very difficult, but we accomplished that. We pushed through when we got down. We have a goal and we're pushing as hard as we can to get there." Huron benefited from three straight Archbold errors to build a 21-14 lead in the first set. After the Streaks won four straight points, Huron finished the set with four straight points, the last three points coming on a Riley Harkelroad ace, a Foster block and Foster kill. "When she gets bouncing, things are definitely good," said Wood of Foster. Huron trailed 16-12 in the second set as Archbold's Molly Harris got it going. The talented 5-foot-11 sophomore had five kills in her most effective set. "Somehow we were able to keep Harris somewhat in check," Wood said. "Our serving kept them from getting it to her as much. When she had it in system it was a kill." A Harris ace off an impressive jump serve gave Archbold a 22-19 lead in Set 2 and forced a Huron timeout. The Tigers responded with a critical 5-0 run that included a Foster kill and four Archbold errors. After a long Huron serve, Foster put one down to give Huron a 2-0 lead. Huron trailed 11-9 in the third set before a 6-0 run put the Tigers in control. That run ended with a Paige Johnson kill. Mya Smith blocked a Harris offering from the 10-foot line to make it 17-12. Archbold made one last run, using a 4-0 spurt to get within 21-20. Again, Huron responded with three Foster kills and a Harkelroad ace. "Unforced errors can kill you in a game," Foster said. "We want to make as few as possible." Setter Reece Hotz finished with 37 assists and was 13-for-13 serving. Adelyn Van Sickle was 11-11 serving and Dehn was 9-11 with nine digs. "She served the most crucial ones," said Wood of Dehn. "Those were nine pressure-packed serves. "We did miss some serves, but we were aggressively trying to hit our spots. They did a good job of that most of the night." Harkelroad had eight kills and 10 digs and Smith had seven kills and two blocks. Huron, which celebrated its 22nd district title in front of a big crowd of supporters, will travel to Ontario next Wednesday for a tough regional semifinal. The Tigers will take on top-ranked Coldwater in the second match of the night, scheduled for 8 p.m. "It feels great going back to regionals," Foster said. "We are definitely gonna push super, super hard. We want to get farther than we did last year."