SPARTY PARTY
TOURNAMENT volleyball
By Ryan Buck
STOW
Experience, it is said, is the best teacher.
A pair of seniors turned in dominant performances Monday night in a Division I sectional volleyball match.
Boardman senior Hope Landers led Boardman to a straight set victory over Howland, 25-17, 25-22 and 25-18, at host site Stow-Munroe Falls High.
With Howland senior Christian Carr seemingly willing her team back into the match, Landers responded with key plays when the Tigers looked to be in position to steal set two and tie the match.
Landers recorded three of the Spartans final four points — included the set winner on set point — to seal the set that carried Boardman to victory in their tournament opener.
“I’ve been really proud of Hope this year, stepping up as a leader,” Boardman coach Andy Wade said. “I’ve been trying to give her leadership roles in years past and she kind of just wanted to be a role player and this year she stepped up and wants to take the team on her shoulders.”
The Spartans, the district’s number eight seed, led the entire second set until Carr — seven points in the second set alone, including three in a row at one point — took over the match.
“We needed her tonight to play well and she’s been up here to the tournament three years in a row now so she knew the environment that we had to come in and play at,” Howland coach Amanda Lingenfelter said.
The 10th-seeded Tigers tied the set at 20 and led at 22-21 on a powerful Faith Grant kill.
Landers responded with a kill of her own to tie it back up.
Cassie Murcko’s shot went long for Howland before Landers recorded another point.
One of the smallest players on the court, Landers makes up for lack of height with her athleticism — she routinely wins points at the net over taller players — and a fierce drive.
“It’s getting balls that she probably shouldn’t get because she wants it,” Wade said of Landers. “That’s the kind of fire. It’s not coachable. You either want it or you don’t and she wanted it tonight.”
On set point, Courtney Platt set an easy pass at the net for the charging Landers, whose spike was too quick for the Tigers’ back line.
The Spartans led the third set by as many as eight points and followed Landers, front-court demon Amanda Lipke and middle hitter athlete Krista Johnson.
At 21-15, Platt — a diminutive libero — scrambled for a ball out of bounds, set for Johnson on an over-the-shoulder bump for Johnson to blindly bump the pass barely over the net for an insurmountable advantage.
“We never let Howland get on a big enough run to where we didn’t believe that we could win,” Wade said. “First game, I felt like we took control fairly early, we let Howland hang around a little bit.
“In the second game, we get a little lead, they’d come back. They’d get a lead and we’d come back.
“We got a couple lucky breaks at the end and the third game we took control right from the start. We minimized our errors, which was a big turning point.”
In her final match, Carr – perhaps barely taller than Landers — recorded 15 kills and 15 digs.
“I never thought I’d see my senior year,” said Carr, who aspires to play college volleyball. “It came finally. We didn’t get the win, but we all came together and talked and communicated on the court.
“I learned that in tough situations, my team could count on me to put the ball in play and get us to the next point.”
Grant had seven service points for Howland and Lexi Miner and Jessie Moore had 13 assists apiece.