Tara Hastings attacks the ball in the second set of Wednesday’s sectional final win over Lima Senior. (Nicholas Huenefeld | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
A solid all-around performance from Tara Hastings and a balanced offense helped the Bowling Green volleyball team defeat Lima Senior 25-14, 25-14, 25-14 at home on Wednesday in a Division III sectional final.
With the victory, the Bobcats (16-7) advance to the district semifinal round against Defiance (15-8) next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Kalida.
“I think we played super scrappy,” Hastings said. “We took advantage of a long weekend break and came back as a team tonight. We pushed through in three sets, which really shows what we’re capable of going into (the district semifinal).”
Hastings finished with a team-best seven kills, four digs, three blocks and three aces. Madison Cowan led all players with 18 digs while contributing six kills, a team-best four aces and a block.
Addison Brokaw added six kills and six digs, while Hanna Heinze had 14 digs. Molly Ruthenberg (13) and Sophie Sheperd (9) combined for 22 assists.
The Bobcats took advantage of a sloppy opening set from Lima Senior, who had seven service errors and eight attack errors in the frame, one of which came on a tandem block from BG’s Natalee Harris and Julia Strum.
On top of that, BGHS had four service aces in the set, including two from Hastings and one apiece from Cowan and Ruthenberg. Brokaw had a team-best three terminations, while Hastings added two.
“Serve receive was really good tonight,” BG coach Deb Mathias said. “I don’t think we made a whole lot of unforced errors. Our setters moved the ball around quite a bit tonight.
“A lot of our players who maybe don’t necessarily get to hit too much got to hit a little more tonight, so that was fun. It was more of an even offense tonight, a true team effort.”
Lima Senior scored the first two points and led 4-2 early in the second set, but a pair of kills from Brokaw spurred a 5-0 run. After the Bobcats were called in the net on the next point, they responded by reeling off six more points in a row, highlighted by a pair of kills from Hastings.
Hannah Yarger capped the run with an ace, while Hastings and Cowan teamed up for a block moments later that gave the Bobcats a 14-6 lead.
The margin stretched to 10 a few points later following a kill and an ace from Cowan on back-to-back points. Hastings and Harris later closed the set with a block.
Brokaw had four kills in the set, while Hastings and Cowan added three apiece. Strum and Marley Camera joined the offensive action with a termination apiece, as well.
“Our setters did a nice job mixing the ball around, and our hitters were definitely taking advantage of that and putting the ball away,” Hastings said. “We played aggressively at the net, and everybody was showing that they wanted it tonight.”
The Bobcats got a pair of aces and a kill from Cowan as they opened the third frame on a 5-1 run, a spurt that was capped by a block from Camera and Strum, who later added two kills for a 20-8 lead.
A pair of aces and a kill from Sheperd put BG on the brink, and back-to-back errors from Lima Senior ended the match.
“A dub is a dub,” Mathias said. “The pace of the game was a little slower than we’re used to. I think getting pumped up and having that energy and intensity level we normally have for games is a little harder to do when you’re playing an opponent who is a little slower-paced. That’s always a struggle.”
The second-seeded Bobcats will now prepare for third-seeded Defiance, who handled Elida in straight-set fashion. The winner of that will play either No. 1 Lima Shawnee or No. 5 Wapakoneta for the district crown next Thursday.
“Tonight was a good dub,” Mathias said. “Next week will be a lot more challenging and afaster-paced. We’ll have to be on our toes, ready to play and ready to work. We’re looking forward to it.”
