Cavs impressive in win over Redskins

ST. HENRY - St. Henry defeated Coldwater not once, not twice, but three times last season.

We're not in 2015 anymore.

The Cavaliers - as they have been all 2016 season - were downright impressive Thursday night in a 3-1 victory over the Redskins (25-10, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21) in a showdown between state-ranked teams in St. Henry.

Even without Paige Hartings, Coldwater (No. 2 in Division III) had too much firepower for St. Henry (No. 8 in Division III). Tasha Kahlig had a game-high 19 kills and Allison Sudhoff added 14 kills and eight blocks as Coldwater (13-2, 5-0 MAC) stayed in a three-way tie with Marion Local and Versailles atop the league standings.

"I think it's always great to get a win in the MAC, especially against a team who seems to be a rival, because we're in the same division for the tournament," Coldwater coach Nikki Etzler said. "We never really thought about last year. It was more about what we could take of this year. That's kind of neat to see. They're setting their own precedents this year as a unit."

In the first set, Sudhoff had two early kills and Kahlig dropped in a pair of aces to help Coldwater build a 7-1 lead and force St. Henry coach Tricia Rosenbeck to burn a timeout. Kahlig then continued her opening-set onslaught, adding another ace and a kill on consecutive sequences to extend her team's lead to double digits. The closest St. Henry got the rest of the way was eight points. Taylor Siefring added a couple kills down the stretch as the Cavs finished the job.

"I think in that first game they were just playing really good defense and getting everything back over the net," Rosenbeck said. "We just got frustrated and overwhelmed. We just weren't ready that first game."

The Orange and Black led wire-to-wire in the second set. Kills by Olivia Harlamert and Lauren Gilliland gave the Cavs a three-point cushion early on, and they maintained that distance most of the set. The Redskins cut the deficit to 22-20 after an Olivia Clune block and a Coldwater hitting error, but Coldwater clinched a 2-0 lead following a timeout. Two Gilliland kills and a St. Henry hitting error supplied Coldwater with the final three points.

St. Henry took its first lead of the night in the third set, 2-1, on Alana Kunkler's ace. The Redskins quickly stretched their lead to 8-3 thanks in part to kills by Olivia Niekamp and Danielle Lange and an ace by Carleigh Dietsch. With Coldwater trailing 12-7, Kahlig ignited a mini-surge with two kills to help even the score at 12. The score was again tied at 16. In the end, though, Clune's play at the net was just too clutch. The junior middle hitter scored four of the final nine points (three kills, one ace) for St. Henry, which pulled away for a 25-19 win.

More back and forth play ensued in the fourth set. The teams played to 12 ties, the final one coming at 18-18. Consecutive kills by Gilliland gave Coldwater a two-point cushion. A Sudhoff spike eventually gave the Cavs a 23-20 lead and two hitting blunders by St. Henry gave Coldwater the game.

"I think St. Henry got better in (sets) 2, 3 and 4," Etzler said. "They started serving better and they blocked better. Our blocking was a little down in (sets) 2, 3 and 4. We weren't penetrating, and our offense got a little bit out of system."

"We changed how we played and we started to play with them. That was positive to see," Rosenbeck said. "They're an unbelievably solid team. They don't really have any holes. ... I think in crucial minutes, in crucial times, we continue to make silly mistakes. We still need to get a little bit mentally tougher."

Katie Alig had 19 assists and Katie McKibben added 16 assists for Coldwater. Harlamert had a team-best 11 digs and Kahlig added three aces.

Niekamp had a team-high 12 kills for St. Henry, Britney Siefring had eight and Lange added five. Clune totaled three kills, two aces and two blocks.

Coldwater returns to action on Tuesday to face another backyard rival in Celina. St. Henry travels to Delphos on Thursday to face St. John's.