Lady Miners rally to defeat Shakamak in conference battle

JASONVILLE -- Shakamak, ranked No. 8 in Class A, had Linton-Stockton right where it wanted it. With the host Lady Lakers having rallied from two games down to come up with match point in the decisive game five, the Lady Miners scored the final six points to come away with a 25-17, 25-19, 20-25, 21-25, 16-14 victory here Thursday night.

The win was the 17th in 23 matches overall for Linton-Stockton, who remained undefeated in the Tri-River Conference (4-0) and Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference (5-0).

"I don't know what to say," said Linton-Stockton volleyball coach Penny Wininger. "This was the first time all year we have went five games.

"It seemed like the girls wanted to play from behind all night. You don't want to get behind like we were in almost every game, but the girls did not give up. They really wanted it."

Somebody had to come up short in this battle of conference unbeatens. Shakamak lost for just the third time in 23 outings. The Lady Lakers watched their dreams of winning the TRC (3-1) and SWIAC (4-1) outright for the first time slip away, as they let leads of 17-12 and 16-9 evaporate in the opening two games.

"That was our match to win," said Shakamak coach Jeri Morin. "I am kind of at a loss for words.

"We were in total control in the first two games, but couldn't put a good Linton team away.

"But the girls fought hard after going down 0-2 to force a fifth game. The fifth game was the like the first two, we jumped ahead, but couldn't finish them off."

Shakamak jumped out to a 4-0 cushion in the decisive game. Two kills by Jess Gilbert, who finished with 16 kills and two blocks, and another by Chelsea Hudson allowed the Lady Lakers to take a 11-5 advantage.

A hitting error by Linton-Stockton senior Cami Miller gave Shakamak the serve and game point with a 14-10 lead.

But Miller, who led the Lady Miners with 29 kills and 26 service points, pounded down a winner, which was set up by one of 47 assists by Bri Ward, as the Linton-Stockton staved off elimination and got back on serve trailing 14-11.

"They are a tough team and Miller is a heck of a hitter," said Morin. "But we should have won this match.

"This was a good game. I would have rather lost like this than to have gotten smoked in three games. This is a tough loss because it really hurts our chances to win the conferences. I don't think I will sleep much tonight."

Another kill by Miller, a hitting error by the Lady Lakers, a one-handed winner by Ward and an ace by Kelsey Firestone put Linton-Stockton ahead 15-14 and forced a time-out by Morin.

The Lady Miners took a big step toward winning the conference when Miller's spike fell in on game point.

"One of our goals was to win the TRC and SWIAC," said Wininger. "This was an important match for that.

"Shakamak is a really good team with a great record. They are very scrappy. They dug up everything we hit at them."

With Miller on serve, the Lady Miners used a 13-0 spurt to win game one. Jessi Bohnert, who had five kills and five blocks, had two winners while Megan Barnes had three of her 11 kills during the comeback.

Firestone hit on seven serves in a row as the Lady Miners rallied from a 16-9 hole to tied take a 17-16 lead in game two. A hitting error by the Lady Lakers opened the door for Linton-Stockton, who scored six of the final seven points. Bohnert had two blocks and then she served an ace as the Lady Miners eeked out the first two games.

Brooke Collins hit on two aces and Jess Gilbert pounded down a winner as Shakamak scored the final six points to close out game three.

A tip by Gilbert fell for Shakamak point and then a Lady Miner hitting miscue accounted for the final point in game four, as the Lady Lakers tied the issue.

"They hurt us a lot with tips," said Wininger. "It was right at the end before we started covering the tip."

Morin tried to put a positive spin on the setback.

"This will probably make us a better team in a couple of weeks," Morin said, alluding to their quest for the school's first sectional championship in volleyball. "This can only make us better.

"We were so close that we could taste it."

Linton-Stockton won the junior-varsity match 25-22, 25-16 as Ashley Sparks had eight assists, six digs, three kills and three aces. Izzy Carpenter had 12 assists, two digs and one kill.

Brittany Rehmel collected three kills, two aces and two digs. Danni Gardner added four kills and two digs.

Tricia Emmons had five kills and four digs while Taneal Church finished with eight kills and six digs.

Sam Butt had nine digs, Kesley Andis three and Alex Daluga and Kylee Niebrugge each had one.

The Lady Miners will host Bloomfield in another SWIAC at 6 p.m. Monday. Shakamak will host South Vermillion Saturday before returning to conference play at home Monday against Clay City.

Linton-Stockton Stats

Bri Ward: 18 of 18 serving, eight points, two aces, 47 assists, three kills, a block and 20 digs.

Cami Miller: 32 of 35 serving, 26 points, two aces, 29 kills, two blocks and eight digs.

Ashlea Beard: 5 of 6 serving, one point, one ace, two assists, seven kills, two blocks and 22 digs.

Rachel Bredeweg :19 digs.

Jessi Bohnert: 12 of 15 serving, seven points, one ace, five kills, five blocks, and six digs.

Megan Barnes: 5 of 5 serving, two points, one ace, 11 kills and five digs.

Kelsey Firestone: 19 of 22 serving, seven points, two aces and 16 digs.

Ashton Montgomery: one block and three digs.

Lauren Karaszia: 5 of 7 serving, one block, one dig.

Sarah Shaw: three digs.

Ashley Sparks: two digs.

Shakamak Stats

Amanda Gilbert: 6 of 6 serving, one point, 33 assists, 16 digs.

Brooke Collins: 21 of 23 serving, 15 points, three aces, one assist, 13 kills, seven digs, two blocks.

Heather Gilbert: 14 of 15 serving, seven points, three aces, six kills, seven digs, three blocks.

Jess Gilbert: 12 of 14 serving, six points, 16 kills, two digs, two blocks.

Tiffani Vash: 14 of 15 serving, seven points, two aces, 15 digs.

Annie Strahla: 18 of 19 serving, 12 points, three kills, 28 digs, one block

Alexis Shidler: nine digs.

Chelsea Hudson: six kills, two blocks..

Chelsea Baker: one kill.