By RYAN WALKER
You could throw the records out the window Monday night because Bluffton gave Norwell a run for its money in a five-set thriller.
Despite a losing effort, the Tigers outplayed their 9-18 record coming into The Castle against a tough and growing Knights (16-9) program.
“There was a lot of emotion,” head coach Stacy Morrison said after the game. “We never quit, and we never gave in, so I’m proud of the way we played.”
Bluffton took the first set 25-21 to set the tone for the match. Morrison said that the effort could have been attributed to Saturday’s game against Wabash. The Tigers lost in five sets, but all were within five points in every set.
For the Knights, it was an unexpected blow right off the bat, especially with the emotions of Senior Night for their six seniors.
“I didn’t really know much about (Bluffton) this year,” Norwell head coach Kayla Hunter said. “I knew No. 6 (Maryn Schreiber) was really solid in their middle, but other than that, I didn’t know a whole lot. They were a lot scrappier than I kind of anticipated so yeah, I thought their defense was pretty solid, and it was a great match.”
In the next set, Norwell perhaps made the first one look like a fluke with a dominant 25-11 victory, then winning the third 25-21.
But the Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight.
In the fourth set, Bluffton held a steady lead throughout, ending with a 25-21 win to force a fifth and final set.
A key contributor for Bluffton was Schreiber. The tall middle hitter had 16 kills Monday night, leading her team all over the court with three blocks.
Her 248 kills on the season leads the team by over 100, while also having the most total blocks with 85. The two stats were the most of any player between the two teams.
On top of Hunter’s compliments for her, Morrison had high praise for her junior and said she’s peaking at the right time.
“She’s actually been playing pretty well for a while now,” Morrison said. “She’s been a dominant player putting the ball down. She never shies away from a block, she just goes after it.”
In the fifth set, Norwell got the crowd rockin’ as they took an early lead and pushed for a 13-8 advantage. A three-point swing was Bluffton’s final effort, but Norwell picked up the victory 15-12.
Norwell got the last laugh, but it took an all-out effort to win an emotional game, and it took everyone to do it.
“So proud of them and I told them just how it was a complete team win,” Hunter said. “We got contributions from every single player which is really important too. To really have to battle back and forth on that, especially on Senior Night, was emotional for them to be able to kind of lock-in and fight at the end is great.”
Stat leaders for Norwell were Vanessa Rosswurm with 17 kills, Jordyn Xayyachack with 22 digs, Autumn Lee with four aces, Marlee Wenger with 28 assists, and Mekynzi Beck, Mallory Falls, and Rosswurm with one block each.
Stat leaders for Bluffton were Haley Gibson with 36 assists, Isabella Stout with five aces, Maryn Schreiber with 16 kills and three blocks, and Marly Drayer with 26 digs.
Norwell will be at East Noble at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
Bluffton will host North Side at 7 p.m. for its final regular season match of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Norwell won the junior varsity game (25-7, 25-6). Bluffton’s leaders on the night were Rori Drayer four assists, Aleyda Cruz and Rori Drayer one kill each, Ella Borror and Isla Gibson with one assist each.
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