Rausch-less Lady Hawks can’t find rhythm in loss to Cardinals
Sometimes it doesn’t take a whole lot to throw a team completely out of whack.
Take, for instance, the Lady Hawks of Hiland, who tried to measure up the Sandy Valley Cardinals in volleyball action on Oct. 11 at the Perry Reese Community Center in Berlin.
The Hawks had played the Cardinals decently earlier this season, and were hoping to turn the tables for a victory this time around, but who would have known that a sick day the day before would cause such problems.
On Oct. 10, team co-captain, setter and inspirational leader Dana Rausch was sick, and team policy set by coach Becky Williams is that when a player misses practice the day before a game, they can’t play the following night’s first game.
Despite Rausch’s pleading, Williams stayed true to her rules, and Rausch watched from the bench as Sandy Valley took apart the Lady Hawks 25-10 in a game in which nothing seemed to work for Hiland. While Rausch returned for game two, Hiland still couldn’t find a rhythm, losing 25-7.
It was one of those nights for Hiland, who eventually dropped game three 25-17, although they did play much better.
“We were a little messed up in that first game because Dana had to sit out because she had missed practice the day before because she was sick,” said Williams. “That really messed up our rotation and our timing was all off. Dana is such a big part of our offense, and so much runs through her.”
Rausch returned for the second game, and still the Lady Hawks struggled to play like they are capable.
“It took us through the second game to kind of get back into sync,” said Williams. “I was really pleased with the way we played that third game. We came out and pushed ourselves and hustled.”
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the night was Charity Mishler, who put together a solid effort at the net. Mishler, a natural left-hander, has turned her season around by doing something that seems to go against the norm, turning around and hitting almost all of her hits right-handed.
That move was something that Williams encouraged the junior hitter to attempt, and it seems to be paying off.
“She had an amazing night tonight,” said Williams of Mishler. “Charity’s approach to the ball with her left hand just isn’t right. She hit right-handed all of last year, and did fine, so we talked about going back to hitting right-handed. If she can do that, and become ambidextrous, it really can mess up people’s blocking schemes against her.”
After dropping the first two contests without putting up much of a fight, the Lady Hawks came to life in the third. A close game was blown open by the Cardinals, who went up 18-10, but Hiland crept back into it, making a number of quality plays to pull to within 18-16. But that was as close as Hiland would get, falling to Sandy Valley 25-17 in the third game.
That loss led to the finale of Hiland’s regular season, one in which they were not exactly looking forward to. A trip to Tuscarawas Central Catholic resulted in a three game drubbing, the Lady Hawks falling to the Saints 25-7, 25-10, 25-9. The Saints are currently 17-3 overall and 12-1 in league play, and are one of the top-ranked teams in Div. IV in the state.
Despite the losses to end the season, the coaching staff has seen great strides this year, and junior varsity coach Andrea Schneider, who has led the JV squad to a promising 14-7 mark, said of the varsity players, “The girls have continued to keep a good attitude, and we are all staying positive. They always come back with a good attitude following a loss.”
Take, for instance, the Lady Hawks of Hiland, who tried to measure up the Sandy Valley Cardinals in volleyball action on Oct. 11 at the Perry Reese Community Center in Berlin.
The Hawks had played the Cardinals decently earlier this season, and were hoping to turn the tables for a victory this time around, but who would have known that a sick day the day before would cause such problems.
On Oct. 10, team co-captain, setter and inspirational leader Dana Rausch was sick, and team policy set by coach Becky Williams is that when a player misses practice the day before a game, they can’t play the following night’s first game.
Despite Rausch’s pleading, Williams stayed true to her rules, and Rausch watched from the bench as Sandy Valley took apart the Lady Hawks 25-10 in a game in which nothing seemed to work for Hiland. While Rausch returned for game two, Hiland still couldn’t find a rhythm, losing 25-7.
It was one of those nights for Hiland, who eventually dropped game three 25-17, although they did play much better.
“We were a little messed up in that first game because Dana had to sit out because she had missed practice the day before because she was sick,” said Williams. “That really messed up our rotation and our timing was all off. Dana is such a big part of our offense, and so much runs through her.”
Rausch returned for the second game, and still the Lady Hawks struggled to play like they are capable.
“It took us through the second game to kind of get back into sync,” said Williams. “I was really pleased with the way we played that third game. We came out and pushed ourselves and hustled.”
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the night was Charity Mishler, who put together a solid effort at the net. Mishler, a natural left-hander, has turned her season around by doing something that seems to go against the norm, turning around and hitting almost all of her hits right-handed.
That move was something that Williams encouraged the junior hitter to attempt, and it seems to be paying off.
“She had an amazing night tonight,” said Williams of Mishler. “Charity’s approach to the ball with her left hand just isn’t right. She hit right-handed all of last year, and did fine, so we talked about going back to hitting right-handed. If she can do that, and become ambidextrous, it really can mess up people’s blocking schemes against her.”
After dropping the first two contests without putting up much of a fight, the Lady Hawks came to life in the third. A close game was blown open by the Cardinals, who went up 18-10, but Hiland crept back into it, making a number of quality plays to pull to within 18-16. But that was as close as Hiland would get, falling to Sandy Valley 25-17 in the third game.
That loss led to the finale of Hiland’s regular season, one in which they were not exactly looking forward to. A trip to Tuscarawas Central Catholic resulted in a three game drubbing, the Lady Hawks falling to the Saints 25-7, 25-10, 25-9. The Saints are currently 17-3 overall and 12-1 in league play, and are one of the top-ranked teams in Div. IV in the state.
Despite the losses to end the season, the coaching staff has seen great strides this year, and junior varsity coach Andrea Schneider, who has led the JV squad to a promising 14-7 mark, said of the varsity players, “The girls have continued to keep a good attitude, and we are all staying positive. They always come back with a good attitude following a loss.”
Published: October 11, 2011
