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November 1, 2009

CLASS 4A REGIONAL: Highlanders make it three straight

FC sweeps East, is bound for state once again

BY GREG MENGELT

Floyd Central had a goal for Saturday’s Seymour Regional: get in, get out, get to state.

The Highlanders had little trouble advancing to next Saturday’s Class 4A State Finals in Muncie for the third straight year, sweeping Northview in the semifinal and Columbus East in the title game in the Seymour Regional.

After beating the Knights 25-17, 25-11, 25-14 in the morning semifinals, the Highlanders beat Columbus East 25-20, 25-20, 25-21 for the third straight year in the regional.

“We played very well,” senior Kristin Kemppainen said. “We’re excited about going to state.”



FLOYD CENTRAL–COLUMBUS EAST

After winning the first two sets fairly handily against the Olympians, Floyd found itself in a battle in the third set.

The Highlanders led 12-8 early in the set and still held an 18-15 advantage late in the set. East had two errors, then East’s Kreigha Henney had two kills and Sara Bean served an ace and the Olympians led 20-19, prompting Floyd coach Bart Powell to use his first timeout all day.

“We just needed to be more aggressive,” Powell explained. “It was looking like we were getting a little passive. We had to stop the lull and get the lead back.”

Out of the timeout, Smith had two kills and a block out, giving Floyd a 23-20 lead. After East failed to return Camry Hinton’s serve, Laura Der put the game away when the dumped the ball over the Olympian front line just out of the reach of Katlyn Hudson.

“We just needed to stay focused and stay calm,” Kemppainen said about the reason for the timeout. “We knew we could do it. We knew we had it in us.”

“We knew we could do it. We still had the confidence,” said junior Jennifer Smith, who finished with a team-high 10 blocks and added seven kills in the win. “We were going to get them in three (sets).”

Powell said he knew he’d have a fight out on his hands from the Olympians, who won the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament earlier this month.

“We knew Columbus East was going to be a handful,” Powell said. “The kids were pretty focused and beat a really good team.”

Stutsman led the way in the win with 25 assists, 10 kills, nine blocks and five digs. Der had team highs with 12 digs and 10 kills. Kemppainen added five kills and Kyndall Merritt had 11 digs. Allison Sims had seven digs and two aces, including one on the first serve of the match.

“I think the girls just wanted it more than East did,” Powell said.



FLOYD CENTRAL–NORTHVIEW

Stutsman had 25 assists, 12 digs, six kills, three aces and a block as the Highlanders advanced to the championship match with victory over Northview.

Der benefited most from Stutsman’s assists and led Floyd with 14 kills, six of which came in the final set. Smith and Kemppainen added nine kills apiece and Jordan Owens had eight.

Smith helped the Highlanders pull away in the first set. Tied 13-13, Floyd outscored the Knights 12-4 the rest of the way. Smith had five kills in the game, including the final two points on assists from Stutsman.

In the second, Northview led 3-2 until the Highlanders scored seven straight points, six of which came on Stutsman’s serve. During the run, Stutsman had two assists, an ace and a kill to give the Highlanders the lead for good.

Floyd left a lasting impression in the final set, this time scoring 10 straight to go from a 3-3 tie to a 13-3 advantage. Junior Melissa Davoust finished the match off with a kill on an assist from sophomore Courtney McKinley.

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