WACO moves on in regionals

WAYLAND ? The WACO volleyball team made quick work of English Valleys in their district tournament opener at home on Tuesday night. The Warriors cruised through the first two sets and then held off the Bears in the third to take the game 3-0 (25-13, 25-8, 25-22).

Set one was close early on. A timeout was taken when the score was 14-8, but a long serve streak from Halle Kissell helped the Warriors pull away. She sprinkled in a couple of aces and brought the lead up to 22-8 before the Bears could score again. Big serve streaks played a big roll in the team?s win.

?I thought we out-served them, honestly,? said head coach Jay Coble. ?I thought that the difference in the game was how we served today.?

The Bears fought to get the score to 23-13, but Libby Skriver stepped up and served out the final couple of points for the 25-13 win in the first.

In the second set, the Warriors showed their versatility. Along with scoring off the serve, WACO had some nice kills, especially from Mayme Hinh, who led the team with nine total kills on the day. Coach Coble says a recent move from the middle to outside has helped Hinh find her swing.

?We were trying to play her in the middle,? explained Coble about his junior hitter. ?She wasn?t getting the swings we wanted, so we put her on the outside and she looks like she?s found a home.?

With the score at 13-7 in the second set, Cierra McArtor stepped up to serve. McArtor kept the Bears off balance with her serves, running the score to 17-7, before English Valleys decided to use a timeout.

The stoppage of play wasn?t enough to slow down McArtor, however, and she responded with four more points including three straight aces. Halle Kissell came in to close it out after a mistake by both teams and the Warriors won game two, 25-8.

English Valleys played their best set in the third. Despite a 4-0 WACO lead to start things off, the Bears held a slim lead for most of the game, including a late lead of 22-21. Skriver came in to serve in a big spot and finished the game off with four straight WACO points, to finish off the sweep with a 25-22 win.

The Warriors, who will travel to Notre Dame for round two on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., celebrated the win with their traditional hokey pokey dance with the student section. Coble says the tradition started a few years ago.

?You gotta celebrate when you win,? says Coble. ?You don?t win all the time, but you gotta enjoy it when you do.?