43
Springfield volleyball sweeps J-M
By Steve Wilaj
NEW MIDDLETOWN
While Morgan Buchenic’s dominance was easy to see throughout Tuesday’s matchup with Jackson-Milton, Springfield head coach Billy Knight noticed it early on.
So during an early Bluejays timeout, Knight made one thing clear.
“Any time Morgan wants the ball, get it to her,” he said.
The plan worked, as Buchenic’s 11 kills and three blocks led the way to a Springfield sweep of Jackson-Milton in three sets.
“Coach pointed out — like if I got a kill — to keep setting me up,” Buchenic said.
The Tigers won 25-12, 25-15 and 25-13.
“With Morgan hitting the ball like that, she can just dominate a match,” Knight said. “She had a good game.”
But it wasn’t all Buchenic in Springfield’s rout. Kennedy Richey had 24 assists, one ace and 16 points for the Tigers (8-2).
“Richey is one of the best in the league and I’m glad we have her,” he said. “And both setters — Marissa Buchenic and Elizabeth Thompson — played really well. It’s just an overall team effort.”
Buchenic said the key was teamwork.
“We just all worked together and made sure that we were getting to our positions and getting our passes to sets,” she said. “We just hit to their open spots. We were looking to where their kill zone was and kept hitting it there.”
Jackson-Milton coach Sue Prozy sensed the Bluejays (2-3) weren’t sharp from the start.
“We’ve been improving a lot, but tonight we just didn’t play confident from the get-go,” she said. “I think that’s just what it came down to — we lacked the confidence to come out here and play.”
Erica Hughes led the Bluejays with 14 kills and eight points. Taylor Tharp had 16 assists and seven points, while Gabby Tharp recorded 11 digs.
“I thought we were two pretty even teams but we obviously didn’t play like it tonight,” Prozy said.
“I don’t take anything away from Jackson-Milton. They’re a good ball club,” Knight said. “We’re just working one game at a time.”
Knight added that if the Tigers stick to the fundamentals throughout the season, they can be a dangerous team.
“We just focus on getting a pass, a perfect set, getting it over and keeping it in play,” he said. “It sounds like a simple thing to do, but sometimes it’s hard.”
Buchenic believes Springfield can continue to do just that.
“We want to make sure that we keep winning,” she said. “Our goal is to win every game the rest of the way and just stay positive.”