Charleston Gelfius
HOPE — When Hauser and Southwestern (Shelby) met in the Southwestern Tournament the first week of the volleyball season, the Jets needed three sets in a best-of-three match to pull out a win.
Tuesday night, when the teams met again in a best-of-five Mid-Hoosier Conference matchup, Hauser had a much easier time. The Jets cruised to a 25-17, 25-15, 25-20 victory.
“We’ve grown a lot,” Hauser coach Erica Raisor said. “We’ve changed the lineup a lot, as well, but definitely growth from Weekend 1 to middle of the season.”
The Jets (6-14, 2-1) had little trouble in the first two sets and were cruising along with a 22-12 lead in the third. The Spartans (4-15, 1-3) scored eight in a row to cut the lead to 22-20, but Hauser’s Madaline Wilmer served out the set, with Charleston Gelfius ending it on a block kill.
“I think we kept consistency, and we kept going strong, and that just helped us get it over with in three sets and not drag it out,” Gelfius said.
“It was nice to see them come out and stay focused and doing their job and not taking a play off,” Raisor added. “We’ve been really focusing on, ‘We first,’ and not ‘me first’ and just pushing through and going after it for our teammates.”
Kaidenze Shoaf
Gelfius led the Jets with four blocks and three aces. Kaidenze Shoaf pounded eight kills, Leah Manley recorded 23 assists and Hayden Dickey notched 10 digs.
Also for Hauser, Gelfius tallied seven kills and nine digs, Peyton Norris added four kills and one block and Kesie Shoaf had one block. Wilmer contributed two assists, Dickey posted one assist and two aces, Manley added nine digs and Kaysie Kistler served two aces.
“I think it was a very good opportunity for us to finally show up and be positive about ourselves, to try some new things out on the court, and I think we actually showed up for once,” Kaidenze Shoaf said. “We worked on a lot in practice to use stuff against them that we’ve noticed in film.”
The Jets have a big test ahead of them Thursday when they host Class A No. 1 and defending state champion Trinity Lutheran.
“I think with our intensity that we will have a positive outlook when we play Trinity,” Gelfius said. “We have something to look forward to.”
“I definitely believe that our practice (Wednesday) will really make us ready for the big blocks coming,” Kaidenze Shoaf added. “We will figure everything out in practice.”
