Cardinals sweep Rockford in final regular season match

The Garner-Hayfield/Ventura volleyball team ended their regular season with a sweep over Rockford on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

The Cardinals got off to a quick start, taking an 8-2 lead in the first match.  Behind the strong serving of Miranda Frederick, they stretched the lead to 19-6.  G-H/V went on to win the set, 25-14.

In set two, the Warriors launched a comeback and took an early lead.  Hannah Hutcheson nailed three ace serves in a row to get the Cards back in the match.  The score was tied at 15-15, but G-H/V came out on top of a close 25-21 win.

Solid defense and strong net play gave the Cardinals an easy win in the final set, 25-16.

“We were getting the swings that we wanted and feeling very confident in our play.  That’s all we can ask for at this time of the year,” said Coach Tracy Schmidt.

For the Cardinal seniors it was the last home match of the regular season and their efforts did not go unnoticed.  Bethany Nannenga was tough on defense, with eight digs and 100 percent serving.  Hutcheson was strong at the line with five ace serves in another 100 percent effort.  Brittani Watson came off the bench for two nice kills in the second set.

“These three really set the tone for us tonight and helped make it a great night for Cardinal volleyball,” said Schmidt.

Emily Mathews led the Cardinal attack with 16 kills.  Shelby Rayhons contributed seven kills, while Hutcheson added four. Dasi Larson, Emily Spilman, Sola Stephenson and Watson all had two kills apiece.

Hutcheson and Nannenga led the serving effort with 100 percent performances.  Hutcheson was 16/16 and Nannenga served 7/7.  Hutcheson also recorded five ace serves.  Mathews had two ace serves, while Rayhons and Younge each had one ace.

Mallory Van Oort led the defense with 12 digs, followed by Nannenga with eight and Mathews and Fredericks with seven apiece.  Hutcheson and Rayhons had six