Composed Highland spikers put down hard-nosed Triad squad for 2-set home win
When Triad grabbed second game leads of 13-12 and 14-13 on Thursday, Sept. 16, Highland volleyball coach Natalie Ott definitely considered calling a timeout to settle her team down to refocus and reset.
However, Ott held off on making that call and trusted her Lady Bulldogs to right the ship. HHS — led by the strong play of Morgan Langendorf and Elena Schrof — rewarded Ott’s confidence, reeling off a 12-7 run down the stretch to clinch a two-set Mississippi Valley Conference win at Highland High School.
“We went down 13-12 and I didn’t want to call a time out because I wanted to see how we would respond and how we would handle it. We sided out right away and then just kept battling point for point,” said Ott, whose team posted 25-16 and 25-20 decisions against the rival Knights. “We didn’t let the whole idea of ‘they caught up now, it’s super tight’ really get to us. We knew that we would be fine.”
In the opening game, Highland jumped out to a 10-3 lead behind the serving of senior Kate Becker. Triad (8-4, 0-2 in MVC play) pulled within 22-15 on a missed Schrof serve before the Lady Bulldogs quickly regained serve with a side out. Senior hitter Reese Bolen then served and HHS put away the next three points to close out the first set.
“The first set we were making a few mistakes here and there and then we got it all together and finished it,” Langendorf said.
Things got decidedly tougher in the second set as Triad dug in defensively and started scoring on some solid passing and well-placed hitting.
Triad briefly led 9-7 before the teams traded points up until a 14-14 tie. Then the Lady Bulldogs began to get big blocks and swings from Bolen, strong outside play from Schrof, and timely sets from senior setter Addison Rohde to surge ahead 23-19.
“Reese out of the middle did a great job blocking and a great job swinging,” Ott said. “She was swinging very confidently and aggressively and Elena Schrof on the outside has super showed up compared to where she started in game one. And Addie Rohde, our setter, just does a helluva job running the offense.”
A Knights side out and scoring hit by Schrof finished the night as the Lady Bulldogs improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the MVC, having knocked off a highly rated Civic Memorial on the road two days prior.
“It feels really good (to get this win),” Langendorf said. “Second conference win, a team rival and they had a good record going in so it feels really good.”
Boys/Girls Golf Update
The Highland girls golf team traveled to Alton on Saturday, Sept. 11, to compete to compete in the Alton Invitational at Rolling Hills Golf Club in Godfrey.
HHS finished 12th with a score of 393. Maci Miles and Brooke Hunsche led the Lady Bulldogs, shooting a 93 and a 98, respectively.
On Sept. 9, the Lady Bulldogs teamed with the HHS boys team to finish fourth with a 291 score at the Co-Ed Challenge Tournament at Tamarack Golf Course in O’Fallon.
Top pairs for the Bulldogs included Dominick Emig and Hunsche with a 69, Bryce Knackstedt and Kalei Gould with a 72, Easton Belford and Miles with a 72, and Logan Oestringer and Camyrn Burns with a 78.
Girls Tennis Update
For the first time in two years, the Highland girls tennis team hosted its annual Highland Invitational Tournament. And the Lady Bulldogs had a productive day thanks to a strong showing in doubles play.
Highland won the doubles division of the tournament Saturday, Sept. 11, as four of the five doubles pairings won their flights.
Katie Augustin and Sophia Fleming took third at No. 1 doubles. Lauren Herman and Addison Crask won their No. 2 doubles flight and Allie Rinderer and Maya Pollard shined with a first place at No. 3 doubles. Abigail Chalfant and Madison Stehlik teamed up to win at No. 4 doubles and Nicole Bluhm and Mya Thomlison combined to win at No. 5 doubles.
On Thursday, Sept. 16, the Lady Bulldogs dropped a 9-0 decision at home to archrival Triad.
Boys soccer update
Highland used timely scoring in both halves Monday, Sept. 13, to knock off Mater Dei for a 2-1 home win. Jacob Oliver and Alex Roach scored goals for the Bulldogs.
Oliver and Tyler Herman each had an assist for Highland, which broke a two-game losing streak with the victory. The Bulldogs then lost 5-4 to host conference foe Mascoutah the following day before finishing the week with an 8-0 MVC road victory against Jerseyville.
Highland (6-4) broke the game open with five second-half goals.
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 8:00 AM.