By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
TONTOGANY — What could have been for Otsego volleyball never happened Thursday.
Otsego had three set points in the first set of its 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-13) loss to Oak Harbor, but could not finish off the Rockets, and a 22-21 lead in the second set was not enough before Oak Harbor pulled away from the Knights in Northern Buckeye Conference action Thursday.
With Otsego (5-4, 3-3 NBC) trailing, 21-20, in the second set, Avery Carpenter and Vayda Schmidt had consecutive kills to give the Knights a 22-21 lead, but there were two consecutive unforced errors that gave the Rockets (9-2, 5-1) the lead back at 23-22.
Bella Simon had a kill for Otsego to tie the score, 23-23, but a bad serve and a kill by Oak Harbor’s Morgan LaLonde finished off the Knights in the second set, giving the Rockets a 2-0 lead.
Otsego jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second set before Oak Harbor got a kill from Tatum Baumgartner and four unforced errors by the Knights to bring the score to 6-5. From there, the score was tied at 13-13, 14-14, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 and at 23-23 before the Rockets pulled away.
Otsego led, 15-14 and held the lead at 19-16, but could not put Oak Harbor away.
In the first set, there were nine ties, and the Knights had three set points, but could not get over the hump. Otsego led 23-19 following an unforced error by the Rockets, but kills by Baumgartner were sandwiched around an unforced error that cut the deficit to 23-22.
Kortny Rollins had a kill to push the lead to 24-22, but an unforced error and another kill by Baumgartner tied the score, 24-22. Rollins had another kill to give the Knights a 25-24 lead, but Alayna Hall answered with a kill to tie it up, and after the team traded kills, an unforced error by the Knights and another kill by Hall won it for Oak Harbor, 28-26.
Otsego coach Gabby Smith attributed some of her team’s struggles to its youth and inexperience.
“We’re young. We have three returners, two that can play. We’re the old JV team (from last year),” said Smith.
“We’re getting them to mesh and adjust to the speed of the game. We’re approaching the halfway point of the season. It’s tough working on the mental game and (gaining) confidence. ‘Conviction over confidence’ is our motto.’”
The team, which advanced to the district finals last year, has eight freshmen and sophomores.
“Our big story is we lost five seniors. It’s getting a little better, and we’re waiting for them to peak. The story of our season is we’re young. Our serving has picked up.”
Molly Kramer led the Knights with 16 digs and Carpenter and Rollins finished with nine kills apiece.
“If I had to pick a player of the game, it would be Avery,” said Smith. “She hit well tonight. She brings a light presence to the court — that’s what we need.
“Coming into the season, Kortny was a big-impact player on JV last year. But she played in the tournament for us last year,” said Smith. “She’s running six rotations for us. She is our power.”
Hall had 13 kills and Baumgartner and LaLonde helped pace the Rockets with 10 and eight, respectively.
Laney Schmidt had 16 digs, and 15 assists and Bella Rios chipped in with 20 assists.
“The team worked together and wants to win together. The girls were in different positions and each player had each other’s back,” said Oak Harbor coach Kaytlynn Sandwisch. “That’s super important.
“I think my girls became more confident as we were getting point after point. Otsego is very scrappy and they picked up so many balls.”
Sandwisch liked what she saw from Hall and Baumgartner, who stood out.
“They definitely played well,” Sandwisch said. “I think every girl helped the team succeed tonight in their own way.”
In the third set, Otsego fell behind early but never wavered, despite losing by 12 points.
The Rockets led 5-0 and 9-1 following kills by Hall and Baumgartner, respectively, and a kill later in the set by Hall pushed the lead to 14-4. Otsego got no closer than seven points for the rest of the set.
