Hauser volleyball has 24 players on its varsity and junior varsity rosters, and all 24 had a chance to play Monday night at Columbus Christian.
The Jets, who have faced a gauntlet of Class 4A and 3A teams over the first half of the season and played eight matches last week, had a chance to rest some of their starters for much of their 25-5, 25-13, 25-6 victory.
“I feel like having our JV girls in really boosts their confidence, and also shows our fourth-through-eighth graders that we had here today, I feel like it’s also a confidence boost for that team,” Hauser senior libero Andie Clark said. “People who are not actually varsity can go in and play in the game and have a chance to be a part of the team.”
The Jets (13-7) led 7-4 in the first set when they got a sideout, and Charlie Clark served 13 consecutive points to push the lead to 21-4. After a Crusaders point and Hauser sideout, Andie Clark served the set’s final three points.
After that, Hauser coach Jeff Case began substituting liberally. He used a mix of varsity and JV players in the second set and mostly JV players for most of the third set.
“There were a couple miscommunications, but you’ll have that when you have so many different girls that are not used to playing with each other,” Case said. “But that’s good for them to be in different spots and have to figure things out.”
Tanna Tatlock pounded five kills, Kayden Miller recorded 10 assists, Gabby Johns and Abby Blair each had one block, Andie Clark notched two digs and Charlie Clark served 11 aces to lead the Jets.
Also for Hauser, Madelyn Poe tallied two kills, and Adrianna Musillami contributed four assists. Miller and Dorrie Shoaf each had one dig, Andie Clark served seven aces and Katie Stoner added four digs.
“The effort was good,” Case said. “We wanted that. We wanted to keep up our intensity, and we did that.”
Jeralynn Handley pounded one kill, Emma Sewell recorded on assist, Mackenzie Emily notched three digs and Annika Jenkins served three aces to lead the Crusaders (1-11). Handley also had two digs.
“I thought they played really tough tonight, considering the competition that we were up against,” Columbus Christian coach Savannah Spurgeon said. “We did some good things. We got a few good touches on the ball, and our serving kind of came in the second set there. So I think overall, I’m super proud of the way they played and pushed through since it was such a tough game for us.”
The Crusaders, who picked up their first win of the season last week, have a new coach and entirely new team this season.
“I feel like the last week-and-a-half, we’ve kind of turned a corner here,” Spurgeon said. “The game is coming together a little better for us here, and since we have so many players that hadn’t played before, they’re kind of learning the skills they need to and are kind of coming into the game a little bit more, which has been great to watch.”
Columbus Christian will host Edinburgh tonight, while Hauser will host Mid-Hoosier Conference foe Southwestern (Shelby) on senior night. The Jets are unbeaten in the MHC after winning a showdown at Waldron on Friday.
“We’re up and down,” Case said. “We’d like to be a little more consistent. We had a really good match Friday with Waldron. We’re really happy with how we played there. We were a little up and down Saturday (at the Lawrenceburg Tournament). I thought we could have done a little better. But we had eight matches last week, and I don’t know if we were just a little fatigued or what.”
Hauser has another big week this week. After Southwestern, the Jets host Class A No. 1 Trinity Lutheran on Thursday and hosts a nine-team invitational on Saturday.
“We know we have to step it up and know we have to do good,” Andie Clark said. “It’s there, but we’re also still trying to come together as we are building up a new team this year.”
