The Class A No. 12 Hauser volleyball team wrapped up its 10th consecutive volleyball sectional title last week, but the Jets are hungry for much more.
Today, the Jets are hoping to travel back to Hope with their fourth regional title in five years as they head to the Morristown Regional where they’ll take on International at noon Saturday. Eighth-ranked Bloomfield and Indianapolis Lutheran will meet in the first semifinal match at 10 a.m. Saturday, and the championship will be at 7 p.m.
Hauser coach Jeff Case says he hasn’t seen any tape on the Gryphons. On paper, the Jets should be the strong favorite to come out on top, but Case knows at this point in the postseason, the team can’t look ahead.
"It’s that time of the year where you can’t take anybody lightly. We have to make sure that we show up and do our job," Case said. "We really feel that this first match is about us. If we show up and play a good game, a smart game, make good plays and keep our unforced errors down, we’re going to be in good shape. After that, things will get much tougher."
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Hauser and International have only one common opponent — Greenwood Christian Academy. The Cougars defeated the Gryphons 25-14, 25-11, 25-12 on Sept. 20. The Jets defeated GCA 16-25, 25-9, 15-9 on Oct. 12 in the Edinburgh Round Robin Tournament.
Should Hauser advance, two familiar opponents stand in the way in Lutheran and Bloomfield.
The Jets defeated the Saints 25-21, 25-17, 26-24 on Aug. 29. Hauser did not play the Cardinals during the regular season, but the Jets and Bloomfield share a common opponent in Brown County. Hauser defeated the Eagles 25-15, 25-17, 25-7 on Sept. 17, and the Cardinals beeat Brown County 25-13, 25-13, 25-10 on Oct. 9.
"Indy Lutheran is a really well coached team, and (coach) Kathy (Anderson) will have them ready to play," Case said. "She always has her team playing really well in the postseason, so I expect a tougher match than what we had earlier. The matchups are kind of in our favor, but we just have to make sure that we execute."
Case said he’s seen the tape on Bloomfield this year, and says that his team needs to play their advantages to get the extra push needed if they want to have success.
"With Bloomfield, they have a lot of size, so we’ll have to play a lot smarter and keep the ball off the net and play to our strengths more and not play to theirs," Case said. "We’ll have to make sure we’re being smart and have good ball control to be able to do that. No matter what we do, the ball control has to be there. We’re hoping that if we do play Bloomfield if they get there, the ball control will be the difference."
Hauser and Bloomfield last met in the regional semifinal a year ago, with the Jets prevailing 18-25, 25-22, 25-20, 32-30.
Hauser senior captain Melanie Taylor says maintaining good energy and focus will be keys to winning.
"I think every team has their weakness, and I think we’ll really good at pinpointing what it is and fixing it," Taylor said. "Energy is contagious, whether it is positive or negative. As long as we have good energy, then it’ll spread and we’ll do really well for being in a positive mood. Being able to focus and put us in that positive mindset. It’ll take focus, too, and it’ll take us a long way."
Whoever the final opponent should be, the Jets are expecting a much tougher matchup than the previous meeting.
"We put Bloomfield out last year. I saw a video of their sectional match they won. Their coach (Deanna Potts) was talking about that they’re highly motivated and think they have unfinished business at the regional," Case said. "We know that they’re coming, and we know that we’re going to get their best, so we definitely got to be prepared for that. No matter who we play, that’s out there."
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Morristown Regional
Saturday
10 a.m.: Bloomfield (24-5) vs. Indianapolis Lutheran (10-21)
Noon: Hauser (26-7) vs. International (6-11)
7 p.m.: Championship
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