> Sports > Sports elsewhere in Columbiana County

Email: "Springfield tastes victory"
*To:		<--TO Email REQUIRED!
*From:		<--FROM Email REQUIRED!

SALEM — Victory tasted just as sweet the second time around, as Springfield took home its second Division III district title in as many years with a 25-14, 26-24, 25-14 victory over East Palestine on Thursday at Salem High School. The back-to-back titles are the only two held by the Tigers, who now sit with a 22-1 record heading into regionals. “All together we just played great,” Springfield sophomore Brooke Schrieber said. At first it seemed that the Tigers were going to run away with the game, taking a quick six points before a missed return gave East Palestine its opening point. In all the Tigers’ first game mistakes gave the Bulldogs their first five points. “The one time out I said, ‘They’re scoring points because we’re making mistakes. Keep after your fundamentals and refocus on this game.’ I said the game’s not over until point what, and they said 25,” Springfield coach Bill Knight said. East Palestine’s play to start the game was a near polar opposite of its play Tuesday night against United, where the Bulldogs again sent home a higher ranked team. “Our serve receive went from fantastic when we played United to they just couldn’t seem to get it together,” East Palestine coach Denise Pickett said. “A lot of it was nerves, knowing Springfield beat us twice in the regular season. Coming in we all knew what we had to do.” Knowing what they had to do and completing those tasks began to fall into place by the end of the first game, gelling nearly to perfection during the second game. The Bulldogs swapped the lead with the Tigers throughout with neither team really giving an edge to another. Things even began to look desperate for the Tigers as East Palestine sat atop a slight 23-21 lead. “They came out to play and we had to stay focused. That was the whole key, staying focused,” Knight said. Yet, those shaky performances came back into play girls sending balls out of bounds or collecting too many hits. “My seniors wanted it really bad but then again it’s just one of those nights when you have a couple people off. If you get more than one or two people off, which we had tonight, then everything just starts to fall apart,” Pickett said. After nearly being forced to play a fourth game, Springfield refused to look past East Palestine. “We knew we had to put our foot down and play our best,” Schrieber said. Put their foot down they did, holding East Palestine to 14 points in the third game with their strong outside hitting and a tough defensive presence at the net. “We got two excellent outside hitters and we go to them. Brooke for a sophomore is really good,” Knight said. Schrieber put up 10 points, two aces, and six kills, while fellow outside hitter Ashley Davis put up 12 kills, 18 digs, and eight points. “Katherine (Davis), she’s 6-foot 2-inches and 6-2 girls don’t like to jump. So I’ve been on her all year telling her please start jumping or I’m going to get a pin and jab you in the rear end so you will jump. She came off the floor once and I said jump this time and she jumped but that wasn’t the way I meant it.” Other leaders for Springfield were Kalli Rogers, 34 assists, three blocks; Andria Lyons 11 points, 28 digs; and Larissa Santangelo eight kills, six points, and six blocks. The Bulldogs were led by Kali George 11 kills; Emily Sansenbaugher 15 blocks, five kills; Ashley Morris eight kills, six blocks; Emily Stewart 24 assists; and Paige Peterson eight points. East Palestine need not hang its head as the team finished with a 17-7 overall record. “Last time they were in the district finals was in either 1992 or 1993,” Pickett said. “I got them all into that huddle and told them that there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. It’s the first time in 17 years that Palestine has gone at least this far and we’re one of two teams out of districts with a medal.” Springfield’s regional semifinal opponent will be Gilmour Academy, the team which ended the Tiger’s 2008 season. The two will face-off on “They beat us in three but the second game was 25-23. We were a little in awe when we walked into Barberton High School. But, I’m hoping the experience will work for us. We’ll see what we can do,” Knight said. “They’re very good and we’ll have to play our best against them too,” Schrieber said.

 

Subscribe to The Review

Share: