SPENCER —
Jitters are a part of life with the Terre Haute South volleyball team. After all, the Braves have just three seniors and sometimes have three freshmen on the floor at once.
“We are very young and we still have jitters. We had jitters in the scrimmage, we had jitters Monday [a victory over Bloomfield] and we had jitters tonight,” South coach Madison Minnick said.
Those jitters were evident when South lost by a wide margin to Owen Valley in the first set.
But the Braves made sure their jitters didn’t get the best of them. South regrouped, and via improved defense and passing, the Braves won the next three sets for a 14-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-22 win over the Patriots.
While South is young, it has the cadre of three seniors to fall back on. One of them, Brittney Pink, had 16 kills, 10 digs and 2 1/2 blocks. Another, Ashley Bazier, had 27 assists. The third of the seniors, Saya Harazaki, had 28 digs and was instrumental in South’s improved defense from the second set on.
But the seniors helped in more than just a statistical measure, they helped the Braves’ young players get on-track after a forgettable first set.
“We try to tell them when they make a mistake to shake it off. We make mistakes as veteran players – no one’s perfect. We tell them to brush it off, get our heads in the game and go forward,” Pink said.
Among the underclassmen, Maddie Callahan had 12 kills and Riley Davis had 12 digs.
The Braves weren’t able to generate consistent offense to start — South only scored four points when it had service. The Braves hung in early in the set, but Owen Valley’s Morgan Schafter controlled matters at the net with six kills in the set.
Down 15-11, the set got away from South when Owen Valley’s Mackenzie Stogsdill unleashed a wicked jump serve to maximum effect. Stogsdill had four aces in an 8-0 Owen Valley run that put the set out of South’s reach. South had nine unforced errors in the set to hurt its cause.
“We knew we had stuff to work on. We knew we could do it. We took it as an embarrassment to lose by as many as we did in the first set. It couldn’t happen again,” Pink said.
The Braves were vastly improved in the second set. The Braves gleaned confidence as they took a 5-3 lead behind the service of Marissa Coutinho.
South led 9-8 when Meaghan Etling and Pink gave the Braves command of the set. Etling served up an 8-0 run to make it 16-9 as Pink had four kills during the rally. South also cut down its unforced errors and won the set going away.
The confidence gained in the second set victory carried over to South’s defense, passing and attacking in the third set. An early 6-0 run put the set in South’s hands with a 9-3 lead and the Braves never relinquished the reins. Owen Valley could never sting together more than four points in a row – that rally came late in the set and cut South’s lead to 20-18 – but South’s clean play assured a third set victory.
“We’ve talked about our identity and what we think it is. We don’t have any 6-5 hitters who can just pound the ball. But we are going to be a defensive team. We’ll be scrappy, we’ll keep the ball in play,” Minnick said.
The fourth set proved to be a stiffer challenge. Both teams were sloppy, but Owen Valley was sloppier early in the match and South took a 19-12 lead.
The Braves (2-0) then had to withstand another onslaught from Stogsdill, who helped the Patriots pull within a point. It was tense for the Braves until Bazier finished the Patriots (1-1) off with a kill.
Terre Haute South 14 25 25 25
Owen Valley 25 15 19 22
Highlights — For TH South, Ashley Bazier had 27 assists and 3 aces; Brittney Pink had 16 kills, 10 digs and 2 1/2 blocks; Maddie Callahan had 15 kills; Saya Harazaki had 28 digs; Riley Davis had 12 digs; Bailee Williams had 9 kills and Meaghan Etling had 2 1/2 blocks.
JV — South won.
Next — South (2-0) plays Columbus East and Bloomington North in the Columbus East Invitational on Saturday.
High School
South volleyball bounces back to top Owen Valley
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West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
Jack Kirchner chose to give credit Monday night to Mooresville pitcher Taylor Chitwood, not to the Greg Maddux-size strike zone she seemed to enjoy.
But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
South tennis ready for potential challenge in regional
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
Coach Bill Blankenbaker’s Braves will play Seeger at 4:30 p.m., while coach Emily Goff’s Knights will take on Crawfordsville about 6 p.m. -
Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. -
South softball's power display earns Braves share of MIC
The fun that the Terre Haute South high school softball team had Saturday — including those five home runs — was all the result of the hard work the Braves had put in before the game, coach Dwayne Stout said after the game.
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Pirtle takes medalist, leads Sullivan to WIC title
Sullivan took team and individual honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys high school golf championships played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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Prep roundup: Patriots drop doubleheader to Carmel baseball
Host Terre Haute North saw its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball championship hopes suffer what was probably a fatal blow on Saturday as the Patriots lost a doubleheader to Carmel by scores of 8-7 and 11-8.
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Timely hits: After slow start, Terre Haute North rallies to beat Mooresville
No-hit through three innings, Terre Haute North’s bats came alive — especially Sam Wolf’s — just in time to rally for a 4-2 home victory over Mooresville in high school baseball Friday evening at Jennings Field.
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Linton’s Weber to coach at BNL
Bedford North Lawrence High School has announced that Steve Weber will be the Stars’ head coach for the 2013 season.
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Freshman group adds to Big Four teams' baseball tradition
The Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South high school baseball series wasn’t an inning old last week before T.J. Collett of the Patriots lashed a run-scoring single.
That hit helped the Patriots take a 2-0 lead, but in the top of the second inning a three-run double by Justin Jenkins sparked the visiting Braves to a four-run inning.
North tied the score in the bottom of the second inning, Collett driving in another run. And just before rain caused the game to be suspended, South called Logan Ames in from its bullpen for some solid pitching.
Not bad for a trio of freshmen. And the weekend hadn’t even started yet. - More High School Headlines
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West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
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