Hauser’s Kayden Miller (9) and Kenze Bostic block at the net Tuesday at Hauser High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
HOPE — Tuesday night’s volleyball match between Mid-Hoosier Conference unbeatens Hauser and North Decatur fit the billing.
The Jets looked to run away with the match, but the Chargers came back to tie it and send it to a fifth set. In the fifth, Hauser put the stamp on at least a share of the MHC title by claiming a 25-20, 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 15-6 victory.
“We talked before that third set that we’ve been here before several times and we always let up in this situation. I told them, ‘We can’t let that happen this time,’” Hauser coach Jeff Case said. “You lose that least bit of intensity and it changes everything… We’ve been battling that all year. I’m glad we got it in the fifth set. I’m really happy with that.”
Both teams were unbeaten in conference play, but after Tuesday’s result, it’s the Jets that now control their destiny to win the title. They can win it outright with a victory against Edinburgh on Tuesday.
Before the game, Kenze Bostic was honored when she captured her 1,000th career kill on Saturday in Hauser’s Heritage Days Classic.
It was North Decatur (16-8, 3-1) that came out swinging in the first set as the Chargers jumped out to an 11-6 lead. The tide turned in favor of the Jets (17-11, 5-0) when they scored the next six of seven points to tie it at 12-12. Neither team gave an inch, but when the score was tied at 20-20, Hauser made the final push to score the next five points that was capped off with an Aniston Bostic kill to take the opening set.
Both teams kept it tight in the second set. The Chargers looked to take control when they led 17-14, but Hauser went on a huge run to retake the lead 22-18. North Decatur fought back to tie the set at 22-22. After the Jets settled down following a timeout, they scored three of the next four to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, the Chargers took an early 8-4 lead. The Jets came back to tie the set at 9-9. North Decatur seemed to have the set in hand when it went off on a 7-2 run to lead 16-11. Hauser then came back to tie the set at 17-17 following a 6-1 run. The Chargers led 20-19, but then made the closing run by scoring the final five points of the set.
In the fourth set, North Decatur had an early 6-2 lead. The Jets then went on a 7-1 run to lead 9-7. The Chargers then scored six straight points to lead 13-9. Hauser slowly chipped away the deficit to only trail 19-18. But the Jets couldn’t make the extra run necessary as North Decatur eventually tied the match at 2-2 to go force the decisive fifth set.
In the fifth set, Hauser led 8-6 before scoring the final seven points of the match to claim the victory.
For the Jets, Kayden Miller totaled 35 assists, 14 digs, two blocks and two aces. Mattie Foster finished with 24 digs, three aces and an assist, and Norah Berkenstock had six kills and an ace.
Also for Hauser, Kenze Bostic finished with 16 kills and four blocks. Aniston Bostic had 15 kills and six blocks, Gracie Blair had 13 digs and Maley Jordan added one assist.
