Hauser’s Charleston Gelfius (5) goes up for a spike as Columbus Christian’s Bella Frederickson, left, and Tea Richey look on Thursday at Hauser High School, in Hope, IN.
Nicholas Shaw | For the Republic
HOPE — Hauser volleyball coach Erica Raisor challenged her team to be more aggressive in serving in Thursday night’s game against Columbus Christian.
The Jets did that by serving more than 20 aces in a 25-7, 25-11, 25-16 victory.
“Tonight was a good opportunity to focus on some new things and be a little more aggressive and build some confidence behind the line,” Raisor said. “Our servers definitely came out strong.”
Freshman Hayden Dickey served the Jets (4-10) to an 11-0 lead in the first set, and senior Kaysie Kistler served them to a 16-0 advantage in the second set. Kistler also had a run in the third set when Hauser stretched its lead from 13-11 to 20-11.
“I was kind of locked in,” Kistler said. “I got in my right mindset and just focused on just getting it over. It was really fun. Just the whole vibe on the court was really exciting, the bench was really hyped, too. It was just really fun to be in the atmosphere, and having our fans with us, too, was really fun.”
Senior Charleston Gelfius got the Jets started early with one of her team-high nine kills on the opening point of the match.
“I think it really helps us to have a step ahead in the game,” Gelfius said. “It helps us keep our confidence. I think our team plays best when we’re relaxed, and I think we just did a good job of maintaining our confidence.”
Gelfius and Kaidenze Shoaf each had one solo and one assist block for Hauser. Leah Manley recorded 17 assists, Dickey notched seven digs and Kistler served 11 aces.
Also for the Jets, Shoaf tallied four kills and three digs, and Dickey added three kills and seven aces. Madaline Wilmer contributed five assists, and Ruby McKinney served two aces.
“Columbus Christian hit the ball back over and made us try to run different offenses,” Raisor said. “We were trying new things, so it was a good opportunity for us to grow as a team.”
Katie Bond and Tea Richey each pounded three kills, Abby Dora recorded four assists, Emma Rice notched eight digs and Bella Frederickson served two aces to lead the Crusaders (1-5). Frederickson also had two aces and four digs, and Bond added four digs.
“I definitely think the nerves got the best of us at the start,” Columbus Christian coach Savannah Spurgeon said. “We started to come into it that second half of the second set, and in the third set, we had a better showing. Everything that we did tonight, I wanted to be a learning experience, grow from it for the rest of our season because we have a lot of season left to play.”
