Shawnee’s Karleigh Hutchins spikes against Maumee’s Autumn Draper during Wednesday’s Division III sectional finals at Lappin Gymnasium.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP – Last fall, a senior-laden Shawnee volleyball team made it all the way to the Division II regionals before bowing out to Milbury Lake.
Several key players from last year’s 24-2 Shawnee squad have graduated.
However, that has not slowed down the Indians much this season.
In Wednesday’s Division III sectional final at Lappin Gymnasium against Maumee, No. 1 seed Shawnee defeated the Panthers in straight sets – 25-17, 25-15, 25-18.
With the win, Shawnee (17-6) will advance to next Tuesday’s district semifinal match at Kalida against Western Buckeye League foe Wapakoneta. Game-time is set for 6 p.m.
In Wednesday’s second sectional final at Shawnee, Wapakoneta outlasted Celina in five sets to punch its ticket to the district semifinal.
Shawnee coach Brooke Hutchins felt that once her players settled in on Wednesday, they took control of the match.
“I think – the first tournament (game), first set, home match – it gets the jitters out a little bit,” Hutchins said. “They (Maumee) are an athletic team, but I feel like we were prepared for what we saw. I think we settled in with that first point of contact in the backcourt. That’s been the ticket this year – to get that first pass. I feel like we have enough hammers in the frontcourt that can take care of business. We just have to keep the consistency in the backcourt. … I think we did that once we settled in.”
In the first set, the score was knotted eight times before Shawnee finally pulled away for the win.
Shawnee junior Karleigh Hutchins knocked down eight kills in the first set. Hutchins ended the night with 26 kills and 18 digs.
Hutchins was not the only Shawnee player that was active around the net on Wednesday. Freshman Gianna Upshaw recorded 13 kills. Senior Sydney Burris dished out 29 assists and served up two aces on the night. Senior Maggie Jordan had 18 digs for the Indians.
“I think the biggest thing is that Karleigh (Hutchins) was able to play on that pretty successful team last year,” Coach Hutchins said. “So, she has a lot of varsity experience. Also, she and Sydney (Burris) have nice chemistry together. Sydney was getting the ball to her. She (Burris) was looking for her and executing the strategy nicely with setting the ball around the block. That makes the hitters’ day a lot easier.”
This season, Shawnee finished second to Ottawa-Glandorf in the Western Buckeye League.
Sydney Genot led Maumee on Wednesday with nine kills and three aces. Teammate Autumn Draper recorded six kills.
Wapakoneta 3, Celina 2
This past Thursday in WBL action, Celina defeated Wapakoneta in five sets.
Wapakoneta did not forget about it.
On Wednesday night, Wapakoneta won the first two sets – 25-18, 25-19 – and looked to be in control.
However, Celina battled back and won the next two sets – 25-13, 25-20.
In Wednesday’s fifth and final set, Wapakoneta (9-14) slipped out with a hard-fought 15-12 victory and won the match. Wapakoneta will face Shawnee next Tuesday in a district semifinal at Kalida.
“We are very similar teams in terms of skill level,” Wapakoneta coach Megan Brown said about Celina. “We played five sets both times that we played each other. And to have one team win once, and the other team win the next time – it doesn’t get any closer than that with the skill level of those two teams.”
Wapakoneta was balanced on Wednesday.
Senior Addi Fisher led the Redskins with 15 kills, 34 digs and two aces. Kortney Fullenkamp had 13 kills and four aces. Sophomore Dylan Paul recorded 12 kills. Senior Riley Szelagowski had 54 digs for Wapakoneta.
Mylee Sapp led Celina (8-15) with 21 kills. Teammate Kira Bange had 14 kills.
Shawnee 3, Maumee 0
Kills: Shawnee – Karleigh Hutchins 26; Maumee – Sydney Genot 9
Assists: Shawnee – Sydney Burris 29; Maumee – Brooke Kwiatkowski 9
Digs: Shawnee – Maggie Jordan 18; Maumee – Kirsten Green 2
Aces: Shawnee – Sydney Burris 2; Maumee – Sydney Genot 2
Wapakoneta 3, Celina 2
Kills: Wapakoneta – Addi Fisher 15; Celina – Mylee Sapp 21
Assists: Wapakoneta – Alaina Custer 9; Celina – Haley Kizer 21
Digs: Wapakoneta – Riley Szelagowski 54; Celina – Sidney Jenkins 22
Aces: Wapakoneta – Kortney Fullenkamp 4; Celina – Avery Niekamp 2
