By RYAN WALKER
Bluffton finished the volleyball regular season with a sweep over North Side in front of a rowdy student section and crowd on Senior Night.
The three seniors, Cayah King, Haley Gibson, and Claire Craighead, went out with a bang in front of their home fans, winning the sets 25-13, 25-19, 25-12.
The 2023 volleyball class is especially special to head coach Stacy Morrison, who has been watching the three since they were young.
“I have a daughter that’s in their class, so I’ve been around these girls since elementary school, and I know them very well,” Morrison said. “That’s what makes them special. They’re funny. They’ve got a great sense of humor, and they enjoy playing the game and enjoy hanging out and having fun.”
What’s special about this Tiger team (10-19) is that they’re catching fire at the right time. Over the past three games, Morrison has seen her group compete at its highest level all season.
Though two of those games have been losses, the Tigers forced five sets on Wabash and a good Norwell bunch on the road.
The biggest area of growth from the team is on the attacking side, where Haley Gibson and Marly Drayer have been connecting with the hitters.
As the setter, Gibson put up 15 assists that helped hitters like Maryn Schreiber (who led the team with nine kills), King, Konley Ault, and Isabella Stout.
The team is building confidence, another area Morrison has seen them grow and would like to build upon it.
“I think Haley and our hitters are really starting to connect,” Morrison said. “Everything’s just starting to come together. If we can just not get caught up if there’s one mistake to turn it into three and four.”
To add to the offensive night, Craighead served up six aces for the Tigers.
On the defensive end, Drayer had her own storyline.
Coming into the match, she was sitting at 989 career digs. Because this was the last game, the team was hoping to get her the 11 she needed.
Players will get the honor of their milestone during the match with gifts and posters. But the Tigers were worried she might not hit the mark since you can stop the match during regular season games — not in the postseason.
After nearly three sets had gone by, Drayer was parked at 999. Bluffton had 20 points on the board, limiting the amount of opportunities. Her teammates even intentionally miss-fired serves to give her extra chances.
North Side, however, had also missed on some of their serves and points, and eventually, Bluffton got to 25 with one dig left to go.
“We were doing everything we could to get her that last dig,” Morrison said. “You can only control so much when it comes to digs.”
The unfortunate ending had gifts and posters left behind for now, but Drayer can still earn her final dig in the sectional next week.
That match will take place at the Tiger Den against Whitko at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12.
Stat leaders for the night were Haley Gibson with 15 assists, Marly Drayer 10 digs, Claire Craighead 6 aces, Maryn Schreiber 9 kills and one stuff block.
The junior varsity team won in two sets.
Stat leaders were Sophie Eisenhut seven kills and one stuff block, Isla Gibson seven assists and two aces, Rori Drayer 2 aces, Rylynn Penick one stuff block.
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