Columbus North’s Tania Maldonado spikes the ball against Hauser’s Aleigha Wickliffe (15) and Kaidenze Shoaf (13) Wednesday at Hauser High School in Hope.
Tommy Walker| For The Republic
HOPE — The volleyball and personal lives of Jenna (Grider) Ortega and Erica (Case) Raisor have been intertwined since they were young girls growing up in Hope.
The pair played together at Hauser High School, and Ortega was Raisor’s assistant for two years at Waldron. They coached together in the Hope Area Volleyball Club (HAVOC), and have been co-directors since 2016 in that club, which now is called Columbus Select.
Wednesday night, they squared off as head coaches for the first time. While Ortega’s Columbus North team simply had more firepower than Raisor’s rebuilding Hauser squad in a 25-10, 25-9, 25-10 decision, they were happy to be able to face against each other after last year’s early-season matchup was canceled.
“Every time you come together, especially with Jenna and I coaching club together — and a lot of those girls that are in her program are on the Select/HAVOC squad — so it’s always nice to see the girls have that competitive edge and have that bond and that friendship similar to what Jenna and I had on and off the court,” Raisor said.
“It’s a good feeling for me because this is my home,” Ortega added. “This is where I was raised. I played ball with this staff. It’s just nice to be back in my hometown where my kids go to school, and it’s just nice to be back in the gym I played in. Erica was the maid of honor in my wedding. We’ve been besties forever. She’s like a sister to me. It was a nice night to be back in our stomping grounds.”
After cruising in the first set, Ortega used her entire bench in the second and third sets.
“I wanted to get those who may not get that opportunity, every chance I get, I want to take advantage of that. It was nice to get 16 girls on the floor tonight.”
Morgan Osborn led the Bull Dogs (4-10) with six digs and two aces. Sydney Ousley pounded eight kills. Lexi Denny and Clara Balzano each recorded seven assists, and Kennedy Horn and Elaina Penrod each had one block.
Also for North, Horn and Hazel Sasse each tallied four kills, Reese Edwards had five assists, Ally Wettschurack had four digs and two aces and Kyndal Wheeler served two aces for the Bull Dogs, who bounced back from a three-set loss at Bloomington North in Tuesday’s Conference Indiana opener.
“Tonight, I felt like we had more fun and energy,” Ortega said. “That’s one thing that we had been kind of slacking on. Just trying to find that right groove. It’s always fun to be back in the Hauser gym, but hopefully, this is the hump that we need to get over to keep that positive attitude going and energy going. It’s been an uphill battle.”
Kaidenze Shoaf pounded three kills, Madaline Wilmer recorded three assists, Maley Jordan notched five digs and Leah Manley served two aces to lead the Jets (3-10).
Also for Hauser, Charleston Gelfius tallied two kills, one block and four digs. Jordan and Aleigha Wickliffe each pounded one kill, Manley had one assist and Baylee Riley added one ace.
“Our schedule on the front end is pretty heavy with the bigger schools,” Raisor said. “But my girls are learning and growing. I have a handful of girls that have never even played. I have three returning girls that were dressing (varsity), but only one saw the court last season. So it’s definitely a growing year for us, and Jenna’s girls have been putting in a lot of work and it shows. They’re a good group, and they’re very talented.”
