HOPE — Jennings County hung tough with Hauser for the first set and for most of the second set in Tuesday’s volleyball season opener, but the Jets had too much firepower at the end.
Hauser used long serving runs at or near the end of the second and third sets to claim a 25-18, 25-16, 25-9 victory.
“We got off to a slow start, but I think it was just the beginning-game jitters that had us like that,” Hauser senior Sarah Tedder said. “Then, when we started playing together like we know how to do, like we do in practice, we started to pick it up.”
The Panthers were within 13-12 in the second set before the Jets got a sideout. Tedder then served nine consecutive points, including six on aces, to stretch the lead to 23-12.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Then in the third set, Hauser led 15-9 before it got a sideout, and senior Sydney Schoen served the final nine points to end the match.
“I was definitely ready,” Schoen said. “I wanted to finish strong and end on a good note. I feel like we did really well, considering a lot of us haven’t played with each other. We have a lot of young girls that are really stepping up and helping out.”
Schoen finished with nine kills, while Madie Sherman added eight and Hannah Johnson had seven. Alana Owen recorded 21 assists, and Sherman and Johnson each notched one block. Tedder tallied 10 digs, and Schoen added seven.
Hauser coach Jeff Case thought his team did have some nerves the first set.
“Jennings County came out, and they were motivated, and they were making some really good plays,” Case said. “We just had to weather the storm.”
Tedder also served seven aces, while Schoen had five. Most of those came at the end of the second and third sets.
Blakli Nading, who was making her debut as Jennings coach, lamented that stat.
“The serve-receive, we killed ourselves,” Nading said. “Then, they had the momentum, and it’s a lot harder as a team, especially for a young team, to come back when the momentum is with them. So that’s something we just are going to continue to build on and work on in our practices.”
