EDINBURGH — All good things must come to an end.
The Hauser volleyball team won sectional championships for 11 consecutive years, and on Saturday, one of the longest sectional streaks in the state ended when Waldron prevailed over the Jets 25-15, 25-20, 27-25 in the Edinburgh Sectional semifinals.
“I’m really proud of them. They accomplished a lot. We couldn’t pull it together today. It’s a little disappointing,” Hauser coach Jeff Case said.
“We knew (Waldron is) a really good team. They’re well coached, and if they get on a run, they’re dangerous. They did in that second set,” Case said. “We missed seven serves, and we made it too comfortable for them. We needed to put more pressure on them on our serves, and our offense, we really never got on track very well.”
It was the first game that the Jets (17-15) were at full strength after playing the last week of the regular season with seven girls due to quarantine from COVID-19.
Following the conclusion of the match, Mohawks coach Steve Mackey and a few of the Waldron players showed their appreciation and respect for Case and the Hauser players.
“I’ve known Steve for a long time. He’s real knowledgeable of the game,” Case said. “We’ve coached some of those girls that played on my club team the last few years. There’s several on that team that we’ve coached with. It’s a small community. It’s good to have a friendly rivalry. It was intense, but you’ve still got to respect what they did. They’re good people, hope they pull it together and win.”
While it’s disappointing to them that the sectional title quest came up short, the Jets are still a young team and should still be considered one of the top teams in Class A next year. The Jets will lose seniors Andie Clark, Stephanie Meek and Gabby Johns.
“We’ll be back. We’ve got a young team, and I’m hoping this (loss) motivates those kids and gives them the urgency to work hard and get better,” Case said. “(The seniors) represented themselves well. They did well today. I’m proud of what they’ve done and what they accomplished.”
For the Jets, Clark finished with 31 digs and two aces. Adrianna Musillami recorded 20 assists, 10 digs, four kills and an ace. Kenze Bostic had seven kills and two blocks, Aniston Bostic added four blocks. Charlie Clark finished with 12 digs and seven kills and Meek served an ace.
“I’m proud of the kids and what we’ve done,” Case said. “It’s been a heck of a ride. I just wasn’t ready for it to end.”
