HALE – Serving at 97 percent for the evening, Hale’s Eagles pushed Mio-AuSable to the limit in the girls volleyball district finals on Thursday, Nov. 1 before losing in a five-set marathon, 25-21, 25-14, 19-25, 14-25, 10-15.
Momentum seemed to be on the Eagles’ side after they won the first two games, but momentum can be a fickle thing. Just as suddenly as the Eagles had captured it they saw it get away as the Thunderbolts lured it to their sideline.
“It has been a great year with these ladies,” Hale head coach Katie Smillie said. “They’ve come so far, and I’m so proud of them. We talked a lot this year about how this was the year to put in the work and get better since they are such a young team. And that they did.
“They came so close to being back-to-back district champs. But, I know they’ll come back next year and take it. We improved both defensively and offensively so much this year. My focus over the summer will be to improve our setting and hitting. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have coached these unique, funny, wonderful individuals. I will never forget this season of tears, hard work and laughter.”
Kaylee Collins paced the Eagles with four service aces and Claudia Caldwell added two from the line. Caldwell triggered the Eagles’ offense, too, with 14 set assists while Brooke Pelton contributed nine and Morgan Vance had four.
Collins was strong up at the net as well with 10 kills. Madison Hubbs and Nichelle Hence contributed seven apiece. The Eagles formidable presence in the front row often proved perplexing for the Thunderbolts.
Hale’s performance in the back row defensively was impressive, too, with Pelton and Jori McKulsky keeping volleys alive as they dove for every hit and came up with three digs each while Kiara Ludwig had two.
The Eagles opened district play on Tuesday, Oct. 30 with a 3-0 win over Fairview, 25-18, 25-10 and 25-7 as McKulsky served up three aces and Collins two. Hale served 96 percent for the match.
Pelton and Caldwell each contributed 13 assists to set up the Eagles’ offensive attack which was led by Collins who pounded down eight kills while Vance found openings in Fairview’s defense for seven kills and McKulsky added six. Ludwig finished with five digs.
