Ada hosts Spencerville in NWC opener Sept. 12
By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School varsity volleyball team split a tri-match vs. visiting non-league foes Hardin Northern and Arlington Saturday morning, September 2.
The Bulldog record is 5-3 after the doubleheader split.
Ada lost a close first match to Arlington 25-23, 25-23.
“It was a tough loss,” said Ada head coach Kyleigh Woodruff. “Both sets were tied at the end, but we made two late unforced errors to lose each game.
“It was a very back and forth match, and we just made too many errors,” she noted. “It was a close, tough match.”
Ada senior setter Autumn Andreasen passed out 15 assists vs. Arlington. She also hit three kills, came up with five digs and served four aces.
Senior southpaw hitter Mariah King knocked down six kills. Senior Daicy Robinson contributed three kills.
Junior libero Jenna Bassitt hustled up 17 digs. Junior Tess Griffith hit two kills, served three aces and came up with 11 digs.
Sophomore middle Anna Conley hit for five kills and made two blocks, while freshman Dailah Preston added a block.
Junior defensive specialist Alyssa Madison added six digs, while senior Josie Phillips added five digs.
Arlington beat Hardin Northern in the middle match.
In the nightcap vs. the Hardin County rival Polar Bears, Ada rolled to a 25-6, 25-19 victory.
The Bulldog girls ran out to a 12-2 lead in set two, capped by a clean Griffith kill down the sideline and a Phillips ace. Bassitt also served an ace to make it 8-1.
Ada pulled ahead 16-7 on a Robinson kill. But HN reeled off seven straight points to inch within 16-14.
The Bulldogs answered with a 7-0 flurry of their own to re-establish control. Robinson hit a kill off a Bear blocker that dropped in for 18-14.
King scored on a two-handed tip and a cross-court kill to extend the lead to 20-14. Madison then fired two service winners to highlight her six-point run that ended with Ada on top, 23-14.
HN edged within 24-19 behind a 4-1 spurt. But a two-handed tip by King to the open short spot clinched the set and match.
King hit for six kills and served five aces vs. Northern. Conley contributed a pair of kills, while Robinson knocked down three kills.
Andreasen passed out 17 assists and made two blocks. Bassitt came up with 10 digs. Griffith hammered four kills, while Preston added three kills. Madison dealt two big aces.
“It was a good win, we had a lot of energy in the first set,” said Woodruff. “We had a bad run in the second set with serve receive, but we recovered.”
The unbeaten Bulldog junior varsity beat Arlington 2-1 and swept HN 2-0 to improve to 8-0.
The Bulldog girls play at LCC September 7, then host Spencerville (2-3) in the Northwest Conference opener Sept. 12.
Ada is 3-2 at home and 2-1 on the road this season.
