Duck Ponderings: Time for the Lady Jets to celebrate

I attended Hauser girl's sectional volleyball match against Waldron on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. at Edinburgh Community High School.

Waldron defeated Southwestern on Thursday 25-23, 27-25, and 25-20 to earn their way to play against the Jets. During the regular season, Hauser won 3-2 with the fifth set decided by two points 15-13 ending an extremely competitive match. The Waldron fans and team hoped to find the right ingredients to pull out the rematch.

However, the Lady Mohawks got off to a difficult start with nothing going right even though the Lady Jets deserved much credit for their early aggressive serving and play. Waldron eventually found some rhythm and won the fourth set by two points, but Hauser regained the momentum and won in four sets. Below, you will find scoring notes with “H” representing Hauser and “W” representing Waldron:

Set 1
H: 6 10 14 16 20 25
W: 0 1 2 8 11 11 (Timeouts at 1 and 11)

Set 2
H: 1 6 10 18 19 25
W: 2 6 6 9 12 14 (Timeouts at 6 and 9)

Set 3
H: 4 10 16 19 22 23
W: 8 9 16 19 23 25 (Timeout at 9)

Set 4
H: 5 8 9 13 18 25
W: 5 5 9 9 11 16 (Timeout at 11)

Hauser then played for the Sectional Championship against Greenwood Christian Academy at 6:30 p.m. The Cougars won 3-2 during the season. Both teams were closely ranked in MaxPreps, and I looked forward to it. When entering a little late due to thinking the starting time was 7 p.m., there was high enthusiasm throughout the gym coming from the bleachers and the court. The wonderful atmosphere brought back special memories when our two daughters played for Hauser.

Every coach wants to win Set 1, and we did 25-22 with the turning point at 19 due to an inspiring hustle play. Hauser got off to a rough start in Set 2 due to a temporary lapse in serve reception and attacking, and Greenwood Christian Academy won 25-19. Then, Set 3 became important for each team. The Cougars had a strong beginning. The turning point happened at 8 when the Jets once again made a spectacular play and then, unfortunately, a Greenwood player was injured. Hauser pulled away toward the end winning 25-19.

How would both teams react? The Lady Jets made another fantastic play early in Set 4. Afterward, they gained much momentum and had a superb blocking performance. The final score was 26-16 giving Coach Case his 12th Sectional Championship, a mark not many coaches have achieved, one that makes all those associated with the program proud.

Recently, I read “The Seven Decisions” by Andy Andrews which is about seven common factors of successful people. After the match, I thought about common factors of successful teams and developed the following list: energy, focus, desire, a combination of heart, mind, and soul, and belief in oneself and in teammates.

All of those factors were evident at the 2020 Edinburgh Volleyball Sectional Championship. I am so glad I was there to experience it.

Thank you Lady Jets! Celebrate!