Huron beats Perkins in 4 tough sets

PERKINS TWP. — Huron had a closer's mentality, which proved to be the difference against a tough Perkins team Tuesday. The Tigers defeated the Pirates in four sets in a match that felt much closer than the final score. The Tigers fended off three set points before winning the first two sets, dropped the third and used a late 12-0 run to close out the fourth to edge the Pirates in front of a raucous crowd and active student section. Huron snapped Perkins' three-match winning streak, 26-24, 26-24, 15-25, 25-14. "I thought Perkins played fantastic. They were scrappy as all get-out and hit our open spots," Huron coach Don Wood said. "I am pleased we were able to scrap our way to win and do what it takes to make small adjustments. We're definitely not where I want us to be yet." Huron, which won 25 of the last 30 points across four sets, improved to 5-1 and won its fourth straight match. Perkins dropped to 4-2 after pushing the Tigers. "I don't know much about last year, but the girls said last year at Huron was a complete disaster, to use the exact language," said Perkins first-year coach Brandon Duvall. "They did what I asked them to do. I can't be too disappointed if we're able to compete with a team that good." Huron erased a 24-22 Perkins lead in the first set to win 26-24. A Taylor Wlodarsky ace and Perkins error ended the set. In the second set, Perkins led 24-23 on Ferrell Coleman's sixth kill of the set, but Huron won the last three points and took a 2-0 lead on a Jada Foster block. "Finishing. That's the hard part about a program that's trying to grow," Duvall said. "There's a lot of things we have to change and one of them is the ability to finish. You have a good team like Huron on the ropes and you're up, you have to finish the game. "It's an attitude. A lot of these girls are plenty skilled, but it's gonna be more than skill that will help us win. It's gotta be a little bit of an attitude. If we see the ball we have to attack it. We have to have an attacking mentality." Perkins had just that in the third set, dominating the Tigers 25-15. An ace by springy freshman Viera Walker closed it out. Huron regrouped in the fourth set. Trailing 13-12, the Tigers went on a 12-0 run with Adelyn Van Sickle serving three aces and Jenna Cox providing four timely kills as the Tigers built a 24-12 lead. Cox was inserted into the front row in the fourth set and responded. "We had full confidence in Jenna going in there and doing that. She did a great job tonight," Wood said. "Four kills in one set after not playing front row for a few matches. It gave us another passer. We were just out of sorts and she handles that well. That's why we have a team and we have options. We used that option and it seemed to really help." Van Sickle's last ace gave Huron a 19-13 lead. After a Foster block and Ava Trevino kill, Cox added two more kills and a block before Foster finished off the victory. "Those will help us in the long run, starting to make winning plays," Wood said. "In the first two sets we were fortunate enough to win them, but we didn't necessarily make winning plays to take those sets. But we're getting there." Foster led a balanced Huron attack with nine kills. Mya Smith added eight kills and five blocks and Addison Graham finished with six kills. Trevino added five kills and four blocks. Van Sickle was a perfect 19 for 19 from the serving line and Reece Hotz had 32 assists. Van Sickle, Hotz and Wlodarsky each finished with 17 digs. For Perkins, which hosts Sandusky on Thursday, Micah Slay had 15 kills and Coleman added 14. Avery Maldonado had 17 digs and Braelyn Davie finished with 43 assists. "I think you see the confidence growing," Duvall said. "We can come out and really put on a show and learn some things. What will we do tomorrow at practice? Will we pout or rebound and get better." Huron, which won Toledo Notre Dame 3-2 on Saturday, travels to Willard on Thursday for a big Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division matchup. The Tigers and Crimson Flashes are viewed as the teams to beat in the Bay. "We haven't played at home for quite awhile and it'll be awhile before we play at home again," Wood said. "We'll regroup and try to shore up a couple things we didn't do great today and see what we can do."