Hubbard is back on familiar stage

The Eagles are in the district final for the 10th straight year.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN - Thursday night at the Boardman High gymnasium, the Hubbard Eagles volleyball program will return to a familiar stage.
When they take to the court to play the Crestwood Red Devils at 7 p.m., it will mark the 10th straight year that the Eagles will be playing for the district crown.
Having lost the last two title matches and sporting a 6-3 overall mark in their previous nine championship encounters, Hubbard (23-2) anxiously awaits a rematch with the team that eliminated them from postseason play a season ago.
Last night, Hubbard advanced to the title match by defeating Howland in three games, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20, while the Red Devils (20-4) needed five games to dispose of Salem, losing the first two by counts of 25-20 and 25-22, then winning the final three games, 25-9, 27-25, 15-10.
Hubbard took care of business
"At this level the teams are really good, so to win 3-0 is nice. We didn't exactly play well overall, but we took care of business and that makes me a very happy coach," Hubbard's Chuck Montgomery said.
"We played an excellent game defensively, enough to stymie their offense and while our serve was strong tonight, we just didn't pass the ball well at all.
"Serving is a big part of our game so that is an area that must be on for us if we expect to be successful," he added.
Corrie Gasser had 29 assists, 12 digs, nine points and two aces, and Lauren Ferguson added nine points, 10 kills and two aces to pace the Eagles.
Ferguson had four points and Gabby Flynn also added three service points in the first game as the Eagles built a 24-16 lead, then had to hold on for a hard-fought 25-22 victory when five straight points by Brittany Kelly pulled the Tigers to within 24-22.
Four points each by Ferguson and Corrie Gasser in the second game helped the Eagles to a 22-10 advantage, but six points by Kelly Barzak and two more by Tara Rose keyed a 10-1 run by the Tigers to pull to within 23-20 before Flynn put the game away with the last point of the game.
"I am proud of our team. We just didn't play well enough to win tonight," Howland coach Mark Kelly said. "We gave them too many runs and failed to pick up a lot of the soft shots.
"Give Hubbard the credit tonight. They are an excellent program with plenty of tradition for a reason."
In the nightcap, the Eagles never trailed and could manage just a 16-15 advantage before Gasser's three points built a 20-15 lead and Karen Cover's final two points of the game sealed the title appearance for the Eagles.
Kim Budd added 10 digs, Brittany Lange had 10 kills and Maggie Bogdan registered eight kills, seven points and three blocks as well for Hubbard, while Brittany Kelly paced the Tigers with 12 points, 23 assists, five digs, three kills and two blocks.
Kelly Barzak, a member of the freshman and junior varsity teams earlier in the season, also had eight points, five kills, two digs, a block, an ace and an assist for the Tigers.
Salem won first two games
The Quakers won the first two games over the Red Devils, 25-20 and 25-22, before Crestwood claimed the final three games of the match.
Mallori Muhlfelder had 20 points and three aces to pace the Red Devils, Courtney Zigman added 11 points and four aces and Katie Miner posted 10 points and an ace.
"When we were down 2-0 I was a little stressed. I thought that our girls came in a little too relaxed. We weren't making good choices on the court, weren't hustling and definitely not talking amongst each other," coach Wanda Hoffman said.
"Game three was definitely the turning point for us. We made good decisions and played as a team. I was proud of our girls the last three games because they stepped their game up a notch and played as a team. That was the difference for us."
Taylor Toothman had 17 points, 32 assists, five aces and two tips to pace the Quakers. Sarah Brobeck also had 14 kills, two tips and a block.