Huron volleyball success in Aberdeen
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
ABERDEEN — Two of the powers in Class “AA” volleyball - not to mention ESD rivals - squared off at Aberdeen High School Thursday night and the match lived up to expectations.
The Huron Tigers defeated the Aberdeen Central Golden Eagles 3-0, in a match that saw all three sets decided by two points, with two of the sets going extra time to determine a winner.
Huron, now 6-3 was fresh off a five-set marathon win over S.F. O’Gorman on Tuesday, while Aberdeen, now 4-2 saw its four-match winning streak snapped.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead, as Hollie Niehus, Melissa Berg and Kayla Schimke staked Huron to a 5-3 lead. The teams traded points, as neither could establish any momentum. Jayda Shillingstad notched a kill to make it 11-6 Huron, but the Golden Eagles staged a comeback, built on the right arm of Paiton Burckhard, and knotted the score at 17.
From that point it was a see-saw set, as neither team held more than a two-point lead until a pair of Schimke kills, combined with an Aberdeen error, helped the Tigers prevail 30-28 in the first set.
The second set was tight throughout. Neither team held more than a one-point lead until Niehus notched back-to-back kills to give Huron a 13-10 lead. A Tenley Buddenhagen ace gave the Tigers a 15-11 lead, but Aberdeen mounted a comeback, behind Burckhard once again. The 6-foot senior had a pair of kills and a service ace to carve Huron’s lead to a single point, at 18-17.
But that was a close as the Golden Eagles would get, as Huron got a kill from Berg to go back up by two and the Tigers held on for the 25-23 win.
Throughout the second set, Aberdeen continually shot themselves in the foot, committing service or hitting errors that helped the Huron cause.
Set three started quickly for Huron, as Niehus had a pair of kills and Alexis Urena had and ace for a quick 3-0 lead. But a Burckhard kill, an ace from Laura Babcock and a Huron error made it 4-4 and the stage was set for another close match.
Photos by John Davis of American News