Highland girls tennis team takes down MVC foe Mascoutah, other HHS squads in action

A 30-minute trip to Mississippi Valley Conference foe Mascoutah on Tuesday, Sept. 28, turned out to be a fun day and evening for the Highland girl tennis team.

Highland stumbled in the No. 1 singles match but rolled through singles and doubles play after that and cruised past the Indians 8-1.

The long match and trip were very worthwhile for HHS coach Matt Pellock and the Lady Bulldogs.

“Today was a good day for us and it helped give us a little better idea of how we can do in the conference since we hadn’t played a lot of conference (matches) like Mascoutah had,” Pellock said.

Highland improved to 6-3 in dual match play and moved to 1-2 in league action.

HHS fared very well in the singles flights with five match wins, including Katie Augustin, who won her match 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.

“She was down in her first set and came back and won,” Pellock said. “Singles has been something she has been struggling a little bit in, so that was good that she was able to come back in the first set and play steady in the second (set).”

Addison Crask won her match with ease at No. 3 singles 6-0, 6-3, while Sophia Fleming won the No. 4 singles flight 6-2, 6-3. Allie Rinderer lost her first set 4-6, then prevailed 6-5, and then won a super tiebreaker 10-8 to claim her No. 5 singles match.

“It was definitely a battle,” Pellock said of Rinderer’s match. “They had a lot of long points in that one because her and the No. 5 player for Mascoutah were just basically rallying back and forth trying to come up with an error on the other girl.”

Nicole Bluhm closed out the singles for the Lady Bulldogs with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 6. Lauren Herman had Highland’s only loss in singles, dropping a hard-fought 5-7, 2-6 decision at No. 1.

The strong singles showing was a pleasant surprise for Pellock.

“I wasn’t quite sure what to expect because Mascoutah has had some decent results in their conference (matches) so far and we had only played Triad and Waterloo. So this one is definitely going to be one where you kind of maybe get an idea of what the next couple of conference matches might be like, so that was a good sign,” Pellock said.

In doubles action, Highland was just as strong as Augustin and Herman led the charge at No. 1 with a 4-6, 7-6, 10-8 three-set win.

“It was a lot of extra tennis in that one and we played aggressive when we needed to and made some good shots when we kind of needed to and forced some mistakes when we needed to at the end. That’s kind of what it (the match) came down to,” Pellock said.

Crask and Fleming took the No. 2 doubles match 7-6, 6-3 and Rinderer and Maya Pollard completed the sweep with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles.

“Getting all three doubles wins will hopefully help our spots next week when we’re figuring out seeds (for the conference tournament),” Pellock said.

What’s next for Highland?

The Lady Bulldogs next will compete in the MVC Tournament on Friday, Oct. 8, and Saturday, Oct. 9.

Pellock believes Highland is poised for success at the league tourney.

“I think to have Lauren and Katie get a win in doubles was big because the 1, 2 spots in competition haven’t been getting a lot of wins up there. That was definitely important for their confidence and if they have some confidence then hopefully that will trickle down for the rest of our team,” Pellock said.

Boys/Girls Cross Country

A trip to Springfield on a cool day Saturday, Sept. 25, provided a positive boost for the Highland boys and girls cross country teams at the Springfield Invitational at Lincoln Park.

In the boys division, the Bulldogs harriers had a decent showing with an eighth-place finish in the 15-team field with 210 points. Ethan Smith led HHS with a 37th place finish (17:54), while Cameron Pace placed 44th (18:13), and Cole Basden took 47th place (18:18) to pace Highland.

The Lady Bulldogs had another outstanding day despite missing senior standout Faith Brindley for the second-straight meet. HHS finished third with 102 points just one point behind second-place MVC rival Mascoutah (101).

Freshman Payton Frey led the way for the Lady Bulldogs with a 12th place effort (20:17). Sophomore Tarryn Keeney placed 17th overall (20:39) and Alison Pace was right behind Keeney in 18th place (20:40).

Four days later, the HHS cross country teams made the short trip to Troy to compete in Triad Invite on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at Triad High School. The Bulldogs harriers rested some of their runners due to their busy schedule and recent heat but still turned in some decent results.

Highland’s boys finished ninth out of 15 teams with 235 points. Avery Brock placed 12th (17:34), Christian Knobloch finished in 24th place (18:15), and Cameron Pace turned in a 35th place finish (18:51) to pace the Bulldogs boys group.

On the girls side, the Lady Bulldogs turned in a solid showing, finishing in third place with 116 points behind MVC rivals Waterloo and host Triad. For the second time in as many races, Peyton Frey led the way with an 11th place finish (22:02). Madison Emig came up big, finishing 17th in the field (22:24). Ava McPherson took 27th place (23:05) to round out the top three for Highland.

Boys Soccer

Despite a strong defensive effort, the Bulldogs kickers fell short at home Saturday, Sept. 25, dropping a 1-0 decision to Collinsville. Highland traveled north to Alton and faced Alton Marquette on Thursday, Sept. 30, and lost 7-0.

Boys Golf

The postseason started out on the right foot for the Highland boys golf team Wednesday, Sept. 29. HHS finished second to Chatham Glenwood in the Class 2A Taylorville Regional at Lakeshore Golf Course with a team score of 334.

Bulldogs standout Dominick Emig captured medalists honors, thanks to knocking off Cameron Appenzeller of Chatham Glenwood in a one-hole playoff after the two golfers tied at 79. Bryce Knackstedt placed sixth and Mason Emig placed 10th (85) to give the Bulldogs three top 10 finishers in the regional tournament.

Girls Golf

It was a day of challenge and perseverance for the Highland girls golf team when they competed at the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River.

Highland finished fifth in the tournament with a team score of 381. Leading the Lady Bulldogs on the course was Maci Miles who finished 12th by shooting a 91. Brooke Hunsche placed 15th with a 94 and Sydney Coziar placed 16th with a 95, tying Jerseyville’s Jerra LaPlant. Camryn Burns (21st place), Kalei Gould (23rd place), and Lauren Janini (23rd place) rounded out the top finishers for HHS.

On Thursday, Sept. 30, the Lady Bulldogs finished out their regular season and postseason schedule with an appearance at the IHSA Class 1A Civic Memorial Regional held at Belk Park. Highland finished fifth in the regional tournament and Coziar made the cut as the Lady Bulldogs lone sectional qualifier.

Girls Tennis

The last week of September started well for the Highland girls tennis team as they traveled to Roxana on Monday, Sept. 27, for a non-conference match. HHS was dominant in singles and doubles play against the host Shells in roiling to a 6-3 victory. Highland finished the week with a 7-2 road win at Civic Memorial on Thursday, Sept. 30.

Girls Volleyball

Five days after losing on the road to Waterloo, the Lady Bulldogs volleyball team looked to get back on track on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at Mascoutah in an MVC match-up. Highland battled the Indians for three sets but fell short in the end, losing 25-21, 12-25, 21-25. HHS finished the week on an up note Thursday, Sept. 30, knocking off MVC foe Civic Memorial at home in three sets.

This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 11:36 AM.