10:38 PM 5 September 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Unlimited Permission to Reprint in whole on in part Coach Michael G. Mathis “Memorial Wins the Battle of Elkhart” Elkhart, Indiana – Elkhart Central almost rode Secretariat (Azariah Stahl) to the finish line, but a stubborn PENN bunch stopped the party in the Blazer gym which lasted for 5 long and thrilling games 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-9 in an hour and 54 minutes Thursday night… Penn had their own heroes, but none more important than their diminutive 5’5” jump setting senior setter Alayna Wozniak… With volleyball loving parents as a support group, Wozniak ran the show for the once defeated Kingsmen who move to 8-1 with no conference losses… “Wozniak is a great example. I almost cut her as a sophomore,” said Hendricks… Hendricks continued to gush about Wozniak who credits her work ethic and the coaching of John Presnell and Kylie Osborne Caudill of the Dunes Volleyball Club… Wozniak moved up to set a 6-2 her junior year and now captains the team in the single setter 5-1 Penn Attack… --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The match began with P taking a 6-2 lead as C suffered a case of the jitters in their own gym. All 6 P points came on C errors including 2 passing errors, setting problems and miscommunication… C responded by getting the ball to their Purdue bound senior left side attacker Azariah Stahl who softened the defense up with a tip before rifling a cross court cut shot. P responded with 5’9” junior left Cassidy Meiss hitting off the block, but 3 P errors brought the game to a tie at 7… P TK (tip kill) by Meiss is followed by 4 for the home team: Having the night of her life, 5’10” senior Jenai White picked up 2 of those opportunities on a TK and a solo block as C moved to 12-8… C HE and a scramble play point help P to within 1, 10-11… 3 more for C including a RS K by White, a perfectly timed setter dump on the 2nd shot to the donut hole at the 10 foot line. Senior athletic Northridge transfer 5’11” Madison Vaught – solo block… C 14-10… Both teams exchange short runs of 2 points with C taking a 4 point lead 16-12… P scores 2 (roll shot and Meiss K) while C scores 5 (Beautiful Shreiner bump to Stahl for a K; Stahl ace; P HE; head shot by spiker Stahl setting the ball to server’s corner; another P HE)…C 21-14… Battling from behind, P outscores C 7-4 with a triumvirate of hitters (Meiss, Sarah “The Boss” Ross, and 6’1” MA Alyssa Schneider) serving notice for Penn… Too little too late in the first game as Stahl ends it all with a K… C 25-21, up 1-0 in the best 3 out of 5 game action in 19 minutes… ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game 2 featured ties at 1 and 5 with PENN’s superior balance beginning to show as they emerged with an 11-6 lead on 3 successive Ross kills. TO C1… Non club quick study 5’11” Madison Vaught attacks 1 ball just above the net for a kill as Allison Delks gets a K… Score 11-9 P… P blocks the MA while the gazelle like Schneider executes the 3-1 shoot set with a strong attack to the 5 zone before Z gets a roll shot followed by duplicate P HEs and a Vaught put down of an overpass… Tie score 13. 3 points for P, 3 for C… Tie 16… P’s 5’4” DS Meg Gabbard digs 2 howitzer shots by All American Stahl with Schneider answering for P… Tie score 17… 2 more for each team make it tie score 19… Error each team… Tie score 20… 2 points for P including a PE and HE on the same play for C. P 22-20… Vaught again for C on the one ball MA kill to bring C within 1… P 22-21… Time for the “Boss”: line shot kill… P 23-21…Schneider MA kill to one zone for a 24-21 edge… A P SE brings C to 22, but a line shot kill by Ross ends it… P 25-22 in 22 minutes… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game 3 was another slugfest as Penn staved off a furious 4 point Central rally to win 25-23 on a Central middle block which was a tad too long in 26 minutes… Penn takes a 2-1 game lead… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game 4 was Central’s last stand, and stand they did… 25-20 in 23 minutes… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game 5 to only 15 points for the match had P taking the first 3 points (Schneider solo block; Wozniak ace; Ross K)… P PE = C’s first point before 2 more by P (Schneider K and C net error)… Score P 5-1… Running on fumes, the C attack recorded 1 on a roll shot, while P junior Meiss picks up a pair of Ks… Score P 7-2… Stahl picks up a lone kill before 2 more points by the mighty Kingsmen make it 9-3… All that Penn needs is sideout volleyball… White picks up a C K, while setter Shreiner picks up another… But Ross hits a perfect wrist away cut shot towards a diving libero… P Gabbard gets another ace. Score P 12-5… A momentary lapse as P HE, but PENN can feel it as they go to their 6’1” senior Schneider on the slide kill behind the setter… Score: P 13-6… After a Penn setting error, Ross scores on a Mr. fister play spinning like a top to an unguarded area for match point… Score: P 14-7… C goes to their star for 2 Ks to move it to P 14-9… Penn’s Schneider ends the match with a kill on another slide: P 15-9 in a game which lasts just 12 minutes… --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Known as Sarah McFarland when she won a State Championship at Michigan City High School, Coach Sarah Hendricks found a new town in Granger after being riffed by her alma mater’s administration… Penn’s AD is more than grateful as the 6’6” Hendricks has led the Kingsmen to back to back State championships in 3 years… Speaking after the match, Coach Hendricks said the following about her Penn team: Crediting the Chargers superstar, Coach Hendricks said: “These players never played against a player like Stahl….I’m proud of these girls…[they] rose to the challenge.” Speaking after the match, Coach Stahl said the following about her Charger team: “We lost the serve receive game…Penn did a fine job…we didn’t match up…I think the match 2 days ago took an emotional toll….my positive: If we can regroup and refocus, we can go a long way in the tournament.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Club and College time: Club players from NIVA (Elkhart) and the Dunes Volleyball Club (Rolling Prairie) brought their 365 day skills to the match… None were more impressive than the high flying Stahl for Elkhart Central (Purdue) and 5’6” junior jumping jack Sarah “The Boss” Ross for the Kingsmen who played for volleyball lifer Adria “The Train” Anderson on the NIVA Club Volleyball Team… Also impressive for Penn was the 6’1” gritty senior MA Alyssa Schneider (Lewis University)… Dunes Volleyball Club junior Kassidy Meiss was a major factor as well for PENN… ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Courtside Analysis suggested that PENN had a far more balanced attack which is born out by the statistics. Central Coach Stahl’s coaching was crucial as she made sure that the passing “stack” favored her superstar daughter getting more swings from the left on serve receive… Match of her life: Central senior Jenai White had the match of her life… Moving her feet to the ball, the senior was credited by her Coach as having a strong spiking talent and “heavy arm”… It was truly an outstanding night for volleyball buffs as both teams gave their all… Truly the story of the night was the work of a 14 year old 8th grader 4 years ago…. While her Father played in the Outpost summertime sand league, Mom encouraged her youngster to play pepper with an aging tosser and author of this story… Wozniak dug one, then set another… On and on it went until Dad was done with his game… So grateful were her parents, they purchased an all black T-shirt and had it printed in PENN gold letters which spelled “Volleyball Forever.” Now is Alayna’s time as the senior setter and team captain. Alayna wears the same Gold and Black Penn colors as she leads her team after being rescued by a Coach who saw an intangible sophomore year. Wozniak is the name – Volleyball is the game… The game lives on… Long live the game… Volleyball Forever! Stats PENN (8-1) Central (8-2) Kills Meiss 21 Stahl 37 Ross 15 White 8 Schneider 15 Vaught 4 Digs Ross 19 Delks 26 Gabbard 11 Cobb 18 Stahl 17 Jenks 9 Assists Wozniak 50 Shreiner 44 Cobb 5 Aces Ball 5 Delks 1 Stahl 1 Blocks Vargo 5 Vaught 3 Wozniak 3 Stahl 3 Schneider 2
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 06:46:18 +0000
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