TCC holds off Hiland for IVC crown
In a battle for the top spot in the Inter-Valley Conference, the visiting Saints of Tuscarawas Central Catholic powered past the Lady Hawks 3-1 to secure their grasp of the IVC crown Monday, Oct. 5, at the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center.Hiland battled and played tough for all four games, but just couldn't quite overcome the balance and power of the Saints, who improved their IVC record to 12-0, while dropping Hiland to 10-2.
"When we played them down there, we had 38 errors, which is like giving them 38 points," Hiland coach Lori Miller said. "I told the girls, if we can cut down on those errors, it's a totally different game. Our girls knew if they came in and played the way we are capable of playing, we could compete."
And for most of the night, they did.
TCC took the first game 25-18 and the second 25-21. Hiland won the third game 25-16, but fell in the fourth 25-21.
Led by Jill Martin's jump serve, which led to 12 points and garnered six aces, Hiland kept the Saints on their heels and enabled the Lady Hawks to remain aggressive.
"Our passing and serve receiving were not where they needed to be tonight," said TCC coach Linda Williams. "Our defense wasn't bad tonight, but our serve receiving needs work."
Martin also led the Hiland attack at the net with 11 kills. Janelle Miller added nine kills and 15 defensive digs.
Kendra Mast pounded eight kills and added seven blocks. Arrianna Schrock chipped in with five kills and seven blocks.
"We did a better job of being aggressive so they couldn't set their middle every time, and we did a better job of blocking tonight," Miller said.
Andrea Mast chipped in seven points from the service line for Hiland, and dished out 35 assists.
"They know how to win. They are used to winning and they play so smart," Miller said. "At the end of the first game when it was close, they would come out and place it just at the right spot. We were having trouble picking up a lot of their hits. They're a very competitive team and they hate to lose. To beat a team like that, you've got to be aggressive the whole way through and hope you get a few breaks. Overall, I thought we did a nice job of executing. We just couldn't finish it."
The TCC coach was happy to get out of Hiland with a win and believed the teams will meet up again down the road in the Division IV tournament.
"Hiland is always a hard team to beat, no matter what," Williams said. "We know what we have to work on for the tournament. We know we'll probably see them again."