Lady Wildcats succumb to Pirates
October 20, 2021 at 4:08 p.m.
Lady Wildcats succumb to Pirates
By Will Fehlinger-
The tall Pirates – boasting a 6-foot-4-inch hitter and four other girls standing at least 6 feet – defeated FC 25-10, 25-7, 25-11 Tuesday, Oct. 12 to advance to the semifinals. Wins over Batesville and Lawrenceburg gave Greensburg the title and a regional date with Evansville Memorial.
“These girls played well,” said Wildcat coach Jill Mergenthal. “They gave 110% and that’s what we needed!
“They overcame injuries and teammates took on new positions around mid-season,” she continued. “At season’s end, we still had two players just coming out of (ankle) boots. I am very proud of their hard work and determination on and off the court.”
Greensburg never trailed on the evening and the match was tied twice, at 1-1 in the second set and 2-2 in the deciding set. In the latter, a kill and Kayla Kelso ace made it 4-2. A kill by junior Kiersten Schell made it a one-point game, but the Pirates won eight of the next 10 points to go up 12-5 and force a timeout by Mergenthal. Two aces by Josie Nobbe led into the break.
After the huddle, the Bucs continued their 10-point run, capped by another Nobbe ace. A brief series of points off Meredith Hoff’s serve followed, but FC errors led to another 10-point deficit at 20-10. Greensburg had match point at 24-11; a Schell kill delayed the outcome before Nobbe’s kill closed out FC.
The match started with the Pirates on a 3-0 run as Schell answered with back-to-back kills. A Pirate serve into the net made it 4-3 but Greensburg reeled off a 9-1 stretch highlighted by two kills from the 6-4 Chapman and a Nobbe ace. FC called time at 13-4 and Nobbe landed another ace. Two Chapman points kept the deficit at 10 (16-6) ahead of three Pirate errors. The Bucs took the next four points to lead 20-9. Schell earned a kill, but the Decatur County team scored five straight to end the set.
Behind the serves of Kelso, Greensburg turned a 1-1 tie in set two into a 5-1 lead. At 5-4, the Pirates ran up a string of six points to prompt an FC timeout at 11-4. With Janae Comer serving, Greensburg put some space between themselves and the Wildcats. The score went from 12-6 to 24-6 and match point in a blur. A long rally went FC’s way, but the Cats were called for four hits on the next point to put the Pirates up two sets.
Saige Mergenthal had 1 ace, 1 kill and 1 dig. Schell had 6 kills and 7 digs. Hoff had 2 kills, 1 solo block and 3 digs. Veronica Reeves had 1 kill and 2 digs. Tiffany Billman had 1 kill and 1 dig. Kacie Williams had 4 assists and 4 digs. Stephanie Billman had 2 assists and 7 digs. Lauren Stacy had 10 digs. Kylie Lea had 6 digs. Hadlee Hornsby had 5 digs.
FC finished at 4-27. Seniors suiting up for the final time were Jenna Bruns, Hoff, Hornsby, Lea, Mergenthal and Williams.
“Good luck to our girls that will be transitioning into their basketball season,” added Mergenthal.
At the 40th annual Richmond invite Oct. 2, FC went 0-4, suffering losses to Richmond (25-3, 25-8), New Palestine (25-14, 25-14), Winchester (25-16, 25-15) and Union County (25-21, 25-13).
Oct. 4, the girls fell to Oldenburg (25-19, 18-25, 25-12, 25-19) while still nursing injuries.
A loss to Greensburg followed (25-4, 25-15, 25-9). The final regular season match drew the string out before South Dearborn prevailed, 25-23, 25-23, 16-25, 24-26, 16-18.
Late-season stats: Schell 8 aces, 47 kills, 2 assists, 129 digs, 2 solo blocks; Kassidy Schell 15 kills, 12 assists, 19 digs; Williams 72 assists, 60 digs, 4 aces; S. Billman 63 digs, 49 assists, 5 kills, 1 ace; Mergenthal 5 aces, 30 kills, 5 assists, 36 digs, 4 solo blocks; Hornsby 2 aces, 3 kills, 2 assists, 70 digs, 1 solo block; T. Billman 27 kills, 6 assists, 21 digs, 1 solo block; Reeves 16 kills, 27 digs, 3 assists, 4 solo blocks; Annie Hoff 3 digs, 1 kill, 1 solo block, 1 assist; Stacy 2 solo blocks, 4 assists, 82 digs, 22 kills, 3 aces; Lea 43 digs, 1 ace; M. Hoff 6 aces, 27 kills, 8 assists, 111 digs, 14 blocks; Kensee Ferman 2 kills, solo block.
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The tall Pirates – boasting a 6-foot-4-inch hitter and four other girls standing at least 6 feet – defeated FC 25-10, 25-7, 25-11 Tuesday, Oct. 12 to advance to the semifinals. Wins over Batesville and Lawrenceburg gave Greensburg the title and a regional date with Evansville Memorial.
“These girls played well,” said Wildcat coach Jill Mergenthal. “They gave 110% and that’s what we needed!
“They overcame injuries and teammates took on new positions around mid-season,” she continued. “At season’s end, we still had two players just coming out of (ankle) boots. I am very proud of their hard work and determination on and off the court.”
Greensburg never trailed on the evening and the match was tied twice, at 1-1 in the second set and 2-2 in the deciding set. In the latter, a kill and Kayla Kelso ace made it 4-2. A kill by junior Kiersten Schell made it a one-point game, but the Pirates won eight of the next 10 points to go up 12-5 and force a timeout by Mergenthal. Two aces by Josie Nobbe led into the break.
After the huddle, the Bucs continued their 10-point run, capped by another Nobbe ace. A brief series of points off Meredith Hoff’s serve followed, but FC errors led to another 10-point deficit at 20-10. Greensburg had match point at 24-11; a Schell kill delayed the outcome before Nobbe’s kill closed out FC.
The match started with the Pirates on a 3-0 run as Schell answered with back-to-back kills. A Pirate serve into the net made it 4-3 but Greensburg reeled off a 9-1 stretch highlighted by two kills from the 6-4 Chapman and a Nobbe ace. FC called time at 13-4 and Nobbe landed another ace. Two Chapman points kept the deficit at 10 (16-6) ahead of three Pirate errors. The Bucs took the next four points to lead 20-9. Schell earned a kill, but the Decatur County team scored five straight to end the set.
Behind the serves of Kelso, Greensburg turned a 1-1 tie in set two into a 5-1 lead. At 5-4, the Pirates ran up a string of six points to prompt an FC timeout at 11-4. With Janae Comer serving, Greensburg put some space between themselves and the Wildcats. The score went from 12-6 to 24-6 and match point in a blur. A long rally went FC’s way, but the Cats were called for four hits on the next point to put the Pirates up two sets.
Saige Mergenthal had 1 ace, 1 kill and 1 dig. Schell had 6 kills and 7 digs. Hoff had 2 kills, 1 solo block and 3 digs. Veronica Reeves had 1 kill and 2 digs. Tiffany Billman had 1 kill and 1 dig. Kacie Williams had 4 assists and 4 digs. Stephanie Billman had 2 assists and 7 digs. Lauren Stacy had 10 digs. Kylie Lea had 6 digs. Hadlee Hornsby had 5 digs.
FC finished at 4-27. Seniors suiting up for the final time were Jenna Bruns, Hoff, Hornsby, Lea, Mergenthal and Williams.
“Good luck to our girls that will be transitioning into their basketball season,” added Mergenthal.
At the 40th annual Richmond invite Oct. 2, FC went 0-4, suffering losses to Richmond (25-3, 25-8), New Palestine (25-14, 25-14), Winchester (25-16, 25-15) and Union County (25-21, 25-13).
Oct. 4, the girls fell to Oldenburg (25-19, 18-25, 25-12, 25-19) while still nursing injuries.
A loss to Greensburg followed (25-4, 25-15, 25-9). The final regular season match drew the string out before South Dearborn prevailed, 25-23, 25-23, 16-25, 24-26, 16-18.
Late-season stats: Schell 8 aces, 47 kills, 2 assists, 129 digs, 2 solo blocks; Kassidy Schell 15 kills, 12 assists, 19 digs; Williams 72 assists, 60 digs, 4 aces; S. Billman 63 digs, 49 assists, 5 kills, 1 ace; Mergenthal 5 aces, 30 kills, 5 assists, 36 digs, 4 solo blocks; Hornsby 2 aces, 3 kills, 2 assists, 70 digs, 1 solo block; T. Billman 27 kills, 6 assists, 21 digs, 1 solo block; Reeves 16 kills, 27 digs, 3 assists, 4 solo blocks; Annie Hoff 3 digs, 1 kill, 1 solo block, 1 assist; Stacy 2 solo blocks, 4 assists, 82 digs, 22 kills, 3 aces; Lea 43 digs, 1 ace; M. Hoff 6 aces, 27 kills, 8 assists, 111 digs, 14 blocks; Kensee Ferman 2 kills, solo block.
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