Archbold’s Keely Culler goes for the kill as Eastwood 6-foot-3 senior Lilly Mullholand, blocking to Culler’s right, tries to get the block. (Lee Welch | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
OREGON — Eastwood lost by about as close of a margin as there can be in a volleyball match.
The Eagles (19-6) lost, 3-2 (25-10, 15-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-13) to Archbold in an absolute thriller in a Division V district final that saw the Blue Streaks (21-4) outscore Eastwood, 40-36, in the final two sets.
It was welcomed drama after Archbold won the first set by 15 points and the Eagles took the next two sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-17, respectively.
Miley Gericke, who had nine kills, ended the match with a kill to give the Streaks a 15-13 win in the final set. An unforced error by Eastwood broke a tie and gave Archbold a 14-13 lead.
The Streaks never trailed in the final set, but only led by more than two points twice at 7-4 and 6-3. There were also four ties.
The fourth set saw Archbold jump out to 5-0 and 10-5 leads before the Eagles rallied to tie the score at 17-17. The set was also tied at 19-19 and 20-20 before a kill from Lexi Ripke gave the Streaks the lead for good.
Archbold’s Keely Culler was brilliant and had five kills and one block in the final set. She finished the match with 25 kills and two blocks.
“I think it came down to service. I think in the second set we lost a little momentum,” said Culler. “I think we fixed (the) service and calmed down, collected our emotions and settled in.
“I think this has (come) from the work of the last two years. All of the hard work is paying off. We’re blessed to play with each other.”
It was a tough way for Eastwood, the No. 1 seed in the Oregon district, to end its season.
“I just told them how proud of them I was (after the match),” said Eastwood coach Sarah Frank. “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but the girls showed a lot of grit and fought.”
Kyrie Henline had 43 assists, Mack Miller finished with 16 kills, two blocks and 18 digs, Lilly Mullholand had 11 kills and five blocks, Addie Hartman finished with 11 kills and 10 digs, Ivy Schrader had eight kills and 10 digs, Braily Mounter finished with three blocks and Gianna Coalson had 12 digs and four aces.
It was the final match for a special group of five seniors — Henline, Hartman, Mullholand, Ady Might and Kylie Frantz.
“Addie Hartman did so much for this team. Lilly Mullholand was an absolute beast in the front of the court. Kyrie Henline had four knee surgeries and came back for our first match,” said Frank. “Kylie Frantz is one of the most passionate volleyball players you’ll find, and Ady Might is one of the best spark-plug players for our team.”
Henline, who set the career record for assists in the match, said the experience was more than she could have asked for.
“They’ve been my girls since elementary school. It’s a special class, it’s not going to be the same in college without them. I think both teams really wanted it. We’re two highly-competitive teams. I think we both came to play tonight.”
