VOLLEYBALL: The Woodlands ends regular season with a win over Kingwood

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - The Woodlands Lady Highlanders finished their regular season by finishing off Kingwood, but it took five sets to do so...25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 16-25, 15-12. They ended the regular season 31-5; 11-1 in District play.

Ending the season on a winning note, will help provide the momentum necessary to propel them into the playoffs, but Head Coach Terri Wade admitted that the team never expected that it was be this hard of a fight..

“Having taken two straight sets right off the bat, then we were challenged. They came back to us, and I think that’s what we need going into the playoffs, to just keep being challenged,” said Coach Wade. See Video.

In what was pretty much a bread basket turnover... a new coach, a new starting lineup, returning players in new positions, it appeared the district championship crown might be up for grabs this year. Strong leadership and great team play have been instrumental in shaping this new Woodlands team. Coach Wade accepted the challenge, and the new crop of seniors consisting of Hannah Hickman, Grey Kennedy, Anabella Pinton, Colby Quinn, and Hailey Reier, have stepped up admirably to fill the gaps left vacant by last year’s seniors, Rachel Reed, Kendall Cook, Codi Lee, Julia Pasch, and Courtney Quinn.

“They always expected to win, but we never expected that it would be this hard of a fight,” added Wade.

Set 1:

Kingwood came out firing on all cylinders, building a 9-3 lead as Effie Zielinski (Jr) racked up the kills. Coach Wade alluded to The Woodlands getting off to a slow start, but eventually they settled in with Hannah Hickman leading the charge to tie the score 10-10. Kingwood fired back with superb defense from twin towers, Effie Zielinski and Rebekah Nemeth. When the score tied again at 13-13, the two teams traded points with the score tying up six more times, until The Woodlands took the set 25-23. The balanced attack came from A.J. Koele with 6 kills, Hannah Hickman and Hailey Reier with 5 each, and Courtney Heiser and Bella Pinton each with 4. Sophie Walls, Hickman, and Reier each contributed an ace. Kingwood’s Zielinski finished with 5 kills. TWHS errors early in the set, made for a rough start and kept the score close.

Set 2:

The Lady Highlanders asserted themselves in the second set, keeping a 4 to 6 point delta between the two teams. Kingwood’s Nemeth and Zielinski kept them in the fight with a couple of kills apiece, but TWHS Hailey Reiler alone, matched their performance, along with almost everyone of the starters contributing at least one apiece.

Set 3:

It looked as though it might be a short match and end in three sets, but wait, there’s more! TWHS continued to build a lead, doubling the score...6-3, 8-4, but Kingwood began to chip away at the lead and eventually tied it at 9-9, then pulled away, adding point after point to 15-11. This was largely due to the 7 kills from Zielinksi, and 4 from Nemeth. TWHS was determined to end it in three with Hailey Reier adding 3 kills, but Kingwood was determined to keep from getting shut out. The score tied at 15-15 and three more times, until Kingwood pulled ahead to take the set 25-22.

Set 4:

Set 4 was a repeat of Set 2...but not for the home team. This time Kingwood took a commanding lead, holding serve, and building as much as a 9-point lead when the score reached 13-4. Coach Wade’s strategic time out to stop Kingwood’s momentum helped, and TWHS was able to trim the lead with the help of Koele’s 3 kills, but they never caught up, and fell behind by 10 when the score was 24-14. Kingwood’s 9 kills from Zielinski (5) and Nemeth (4) were too much to overcome, and KW took the set 25-16.

Set 5

With the slate wiped clean, both teams fought for the fifth set tying the score multiple times and numerous lead changes. TWHS Hickman and Walls added 2 kills apiece, and Kingwood’s Zielinski and Nemeth 4 and 2 respectively, but The Woodlands reached 15 first and won the set 15-12.

Stellar play by both teams by stellar athletes kept the game seesawing back and forth. Kingwood is better than their 16-20 record suggests, and it was a much improved team from the last time they met up with The Woodlands. They ended the season with a 6-6 District record. As Coach Wade stated, everyone was after The Woodlands, and teams will rise to the level of the competition. But as the saying goes...the cream rises to the top. Outstanding play in tonight’s game is as follows:

RECAP

TWHS:


Hailey Reier with 2 aces, 11 kills, and 20 digs, achieved a personal best, and named Woodlands Online’s Player of the Game.

Hannah Hickman came in second with 1 ace, 11 kills, and 8 digs.

A.J. Koele had 12 kills to her credit

Sophie Walls had an amazing 39 assists

Four players were in double digits with digs: Mia Primavera (22), Colby Quinn (16), Grey Kennedy (15), Sophie Walls (13)

Kingwood:

Effie Zielinski was their kill leader 20, followed by Rebekah Nemeth with 15. Lauren Ivey had 21 digs to her credit.

The playoffs start next week. Stay tuned to Woodlands Online for team matchups, times. and locations.