Dennis Dunn | For The Republic
HOPE — Hauser ran its sectional volleyball title streak to eight with a 25-9, 25-8, 25-3 win against South Decatur on Saturday night in the championship of the Hauser Sectional.
“I was real happy with the way we played and kept our errors to a minimum,” Hauser coach Jeff Case said. “We had a lot of energy and played our offense, so I am real happy with the way we are playing. Our motivation is a state championship. We think we can make a run and think we have a team good enough. We were pumped up coming into this game.”
In the first set, the Jets (32-4) broke open a 2-2 tie with four straight points to lead 6-2. After the Cougars grabbed a point to make it 6-3, the Jets scored the next five for a 12-3 lead.
The Jets continued to put the pressure on and kept the lead in double figures at 19-7. Sydney Schoen had four service points and Sarah Tedder closed out the first set with a kill to give Hauser the set.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
A Schoen jump started the Jets in the second set by helping them to a 4-0 lead. After Hauser led 12-5 on a kill by Madie Sherman, she then led the Jets on the service line with four points to make it 16-5.
South Decatur’s Madison Owens collected a kill to stop the rally. Schoen had two aces en route to scoring the final five points of the set.
The Cougars’ only lead of the match came at 1-0 in the first set.
“The girls did a good job this week with the being off school, and they came in during the morning and worked hard,” South Decatur coach Carrie Somers said. “This morning against Rising Sun we played well, but tonight, we kind of fell short. We didn’t play our best volleyball tonight, unfortunately, but I am glad we did this morning.”
After the Cougars (9-24) had a sideout to start the third set, Schoen took over for the Jets and scored 12 straight points, including two aces, for a 13-0 lead. Sherman added another kill to make it 17-2, and Alana Owen scored six straight points for a 23-2 lead. Sherman added a kill, and Schoen closed out the win with a service point.
Sherman, who led the Jets with nine kills and two blocks, is a senior and has been part of the class that has won four straight sectional titles.
“It’s great, and we have been winning it for eight years now,” Sherman said. “I have won it since my freshman year and its great to carry on this tradition. It’s always great to win in your senior year and to pass on the tradition to the underclassmen. We play well together as a team and always communicate well. We have great enthusiasm. We also try to take one game at a time.”
Schoen led Hauser with 10 aces and five digs.
“It is just a great feeling,” Schoen said. “It shows all of our hard work and dedication to the team, and it is just really fun. I think all of the ones we have won have been memorable, but the last one, knowing you get to keep playing as a senior is the best one.
“I have such great teammates and they are all awesome. They are super fun to be around and are always working hard. We definitely don’t want to overlook anybody and every game is serious.”
Tedder finished with eight kills, eight aces, three assists and two blocks. Owen had 12 assists and four aces.
For the Cougars, Taylor Best had four assists and six digs, while Karah Biddinger had nine digs. Zoey Nobbe and Sam Goodfellow each pounded two kills. Owens had three kills, and Whitnye Burton added two assists.
“Tonight I thought the girls done a good job of keeping their attitudes up,” Somers said. “We win together and we lose together and I love how they play as a team no matter what.”
The Jets advanced to the final with a 25-14, 25-14, 25-11 semifinal win against Oldenburg Academy. South Decatur beat Rising Sun 27-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-17 in the semifinals.
Claire Wullenweber led the Cougars with 14 kills and two aces against Rising Sun. Best recorded 18 assists, Owens had five blocks, Biddinger notched 13 digs and Kayla Carder served two aces.
Hauser will play Indianapolis Lutheran in the semifinals of the Morristown Regional at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
“We got good play out of everyone involved, and I was really pleased with that,” Case said. “Only thing I know about our regional is that it is in Morristown and we play a team we have played and beaten this year. They are a good team and very well coached. We know they will be motivated because of the season and will have to play well.”
