VOLLEYBALL: The Woodlands wins in four sets over Oak Ridge

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Volleyball fans were treated to another stellar competition when Oak Ridge played The Woodlands in a hard-fought district game. These two teams match up exceedingly well, with each one winning a game in two sets when they met in tournament play earlier this season. Tonight’s game lived up to the expectations with the first two sets going the distance, but with homecoming and home court advantage...The Lady Highlanders weren’t going to be denied, and won in four sets...29-27, 28-26, 21-25, 25-22.

The Woodlands Head Volleyball Coach Terri Wade credited a more relaxed atmosphere, for the win.

“We weren’t the intense team that we’ve been been. We were more relaxed and under control, which was exactly what we needed tonight,” said Coach Wade. (see video link)

Set 1:

This first set demonstrated how evenly matched these two teams are with lead changes that at times, compiled a four and five-point lead, only to have the opposing team rally to take the lead and pull away. Early in the set Oak Ridge’s Rhyan Johnson (Sr) held serve for 3 points, but TWHS Hailey Reier (Sr) consistently found the soft spot on the opposite side of the net when playing in the left front corner slamming three kills, and aided by senior team members Hannah Hickman and Anabella Pinton for three apiece.

Oak Ridge matched firepower with as many points from Brooke Clark (Sr) and Hailey Lohnes (Jr). Libero, Raigen Cianciulli (Jr), and Carly Graham (Soph), contributed serving points at 2 and 3 respectively. When the set was tied up 20-20, the teams traded points and the lead seesawed back and forth until TWHS was able to score on serve and took the set 29-27.

Set 2:

The next set went the distance too, with stellar play by OR’s Clark with 6 kills and a couple of lobbed points, that was upstaged by Hickman on the other side of the net with 7 kills and 5 blocks. OR libero, Cianciulli held serve for 4 points; then TW Sarah Smedley added an ace. Oak Ridge held the lead at 12-17, and even though The Woodlands pulled up to 15 pts, Oak Ridge added a couple more points. The Woodlands then went on a scoring run and tied it up 19-19, in large part due to kills contributed by Pinton, Grey Kennedy (Sr), and sophomores AJ Koele and Sophie Walls, with 2 apiece. From that point on, the two teams exchanged points with neither one able to put the other away, until The Woodlands finally scored on serve, taking the second set 28-26.

Set 3:

Oak Ridge came roaring back in the third set with Clark holding serve for 5 points, and TW calling a timeout with the score 5-0. The Lady War Eagles continued to double up the score until it reached 11-6, and the Highlanders answered back, tying it up 12-12. Credit Hailey Reier (Sr), with getting TWHS back in the game with 4 kills and a couple of lobbed shots, aided by couple of points each from Hickman, Koele, Pinton, and Walls. But Oak Ridge was determined to take this set, and a balanced attack led by Clark with 3 kills, and most of the team each contributing one kill, and a couple of points. Oak Ridge’s team play on both offense and defense enabled them to take the third set convincingly 25-21.

Set 4:

After three long and exhausting sets, the two teams demonstrated how well-trained they were, with neither showing any signs of fatigue, and playing with the same intensity as in set one. The difference was they both demonstrated the best team play of the night. Extended volleys, diving saves, and everyone getting a fair share of touches. The Woodlands jumped out to a 4-0 lead, with Hickman holding serve, one of which was an ace. Oak Ridge’s Libero, Cianciulli, answered back by retaining serve for 4 pts too. OR Clark would contribute 5 kills to this set, with help from Johnson who had 3, but Koele, Pinto, and Walls, would rack up points with 3 apiece. The best blocking of the game came in this set with TW Hickman’s 3, Reier’s 2, and Koele, Pinton, and Heiser adding one, and on the opposite side for Oak Ridge, Clarke, Graham, and Lohnes, with 2, and Kaitlin Smith 1. TWHS was up by three at 21-19, and Oak Ridge just couldn’t overtake that 3-point deficit as the score edged up, and The Lady Highlanders took the fourth and last set, 25-22.

Recap:

Oak Ridge demonstrated their serving poweress with four aces, but the edge went to The Woodlands with 61 kills to Oak Ridge’s 58; 59 assists to 48; and 143 digs to 132. The number of sets won…TWHS 3 to Oak Ridge 1, doesn’t truly depict how close this game was; none of the sets were won by more than 4 points.

Outstanding play by The Woodlands:

Kills:Hannah Hickman 14, AJ Koele 14, Anabella Pinton 13
Assists:Sophie Walls 53
Digs: Mia Primavera 32; Colby Quinn 26, and Hailey Reier 24

Outstanding play by Oak Ridge:

Kills: Brooke Clark 23, Rhyan Johnson 14
Assists: Carly Graham 41
Digs Raigen Cianciulli 37; Carly Graham 27, Rhyan Johnson 26, Brooke Clark 21

These two teams will meet again on October 20 in Oak Ridge. Expect more of the same...long sets, long volleys, and just as much intensity. The Woodlands bounces back from a 2-game losing streak, and is now 3-1 in District wins. Coach Wade commented on the recent losses to College Park and George Ranch...

"Tonight's game was definitely a good boost after coming off a very short losing streak. It was tough to lose two games in a row," said Coach Wade. "It definitely meant a lot to win tonight. I felt like we brought back some confidence."

Oak Ridge is now 3-2. Oak Ridge will have next Tuesday off, then will play at Summer Creek, Friday, October 2. The Woodlands will play Summer Creek next Tuesday, Sept. 29, at home.

College Park played at Summer Creek this evening (score pending.) Their next game will be Tuesday at home against Kingwood.

This year’s district championship will be too close to call. The three toughest teams in District are approximately four miles apart in what could be considered a turbulent Bermuda Triangle. This makes it advantageous for fans to possibly see the best volleyball in district history by just triangulating The Woodlands.