Huron's defense starts with a strong block

HURON — Huron has a tall volleyball team that puts up a strong block. But the Tigers don't just stroll onto the court and nonchalantly stuff opponents' shots. They work on it. In practice, Tigers coach Don Wood will situate himself on a plyometric box and hit balls into his team's block, simulating game conditions. Over and over again. "We're trying to get them to have their hands up on the net so I can't hit the ball in between their hands and the net," Wood said. "Just working on technique, making sure it's squared away." Senior middle hitter Claire Solberg, who is listed at 6-foot-2 in the game program, leads the Tigers with 76 blocks this season. Six-foot middle hitter Sophie Lee has 75 while 6-foot outside hitter Makenna Schafer has been credited with 59. "Coach Wood hits at us all the time," Solberg said. "He really gets on me about pushing over because I used to have some trouble with that and the ball would go past me. I've been working on that a lot." Other Tigers who contribute heavily to the team's block include 5-9 senior setter Georgi Moody (47 blocks) and 5-8 senior outside hitter Alizia Lagando (32). "Blocking is a huge asset with our team; we have the height to do it," Schafer said. "When we play good hitters they know their way around blocks. During practice he'll hit at us but not right into the block. He'll hit it right or left a little bit and we'll have to adjust and jump into his hit to block it in the right spot." The Tigers used their big block to wear down smaller regional opponents Defiance Tinora and Johnstown Northridge last weekend, winning six of seven sets in those matches to advance to Saturday's Division III state semifinals at Vandalia Butler High School in suburban Dayton. "If it's not scoring a point directly, it's giving our back row less court to defend," Wood said about the benefits of his team's block. "No. 1, it's made our floor defense a lot better. "No. 2, it's a great weapon when you've got three 6-footers and a couple others that block well. It's been an effective tool for us." The back-row defenders appreciate Huron's first line of defense. Senior libero Sofia Stefano leads the team with 377 digs. Lagando, who plays all around, has 300 and junior Izzy Cozzie has 289. "The block kind of shapes our defense," Stefano said. "Having those tall people helps so much. It helps us find the open areas and where to get the perfect dig." "I think it's easier for them to read the hitters," Moody said of the back row. "It helps them get to the correct spots that the hitter's usually hitting at. We usually target where the hitter's gonna hit, either cross or line." Huron's challenging schedule — the Tigers played four teams that made the regional finals in Division I, II or III, plus several other ranked squads — has given the team plenty of practice blocking against talented hitters. "There are some hard hitters," Lagando said. "It would almost be impossible to dig anything if the block didn't get a touch on it. I'm so thankful for these 6-footers. It really saves us. A lot of concussions have been avoided."