This story is sponsored by Forward Financial Bank
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – Auburndale had to come back from a two-point deficit late in the second game, but otherwise it showed it is ready to contend for another Marawood Conference South Division volleyball title as the Apaches shut down Stratford for a 3-0 win Tuesday night at Stratford High School.
The Apaches won 25-17, 26-24, 25-10, to win the conference opener for both teams.
Auburndale had won seven straight Marawood South titles before Marathon knocked them off last year. Apaches coach Peggy Empey said she feels they will contend again for the top spot in the conference despite having just one senior on the roster.
“I am really excited with the team,” Empey said. “They’re a close team, they care about each other, and sometimes that’s the biggest thing that can pull you through a tight match. They really want each other to do well and they push each other on the court.
“Our expectation doesn’t change regardless of who is on our team. The girls, throughout the program, know that expectation is there and they work hard to achieve it.”
Auburndale used a 10-1 run in the middle of the opening game to turn a 12-10 lead into a commanding 22-11 advantage.
Stratford rallied with five straight points as it staved off game point and cut the Apaches’ lead to 24-17 before Auburndale finally finished off the win.
The Tigers used another big rally in Game 2 and had Auburndale on the ropes late.
Nicole Nikolay had three kills in a 6-0 run that saw Auburndale grab a 14-9 lead before the Tigers chipped away. Stratford’s Mackenzie Hannan had three kills and an ace as the Tigers scored 10 of 12 points to take a 22-20 lead after the ace.
Falling behind seemed to wake up the Apaches, who scored three straight points to regain the lead, and eventually closed out a 26-24 victory.
“The girls are doing a great job of seeing the ball and getting in the right position quickly defensively, and that translates into our offense running different things,” Empey said. “Having a young team, they were very jittery starting off the night. When things wouldn’t quit go our way, you could see them starting to sink, but they picked each other up. Once they took the pressure off of themselves and just wanted to get that one ball, one play at a time, it made all the difference.”
The third game was dominated by the Apaches, who jumped out to a 10-5 lead and had rallies of 7-0 and 5-0 to close out the match.
Camille Swart had 14 kills, Nikolay added nine kills and 13 digs, Kendra Kundinger had 21 assists, six kills and 13 digs, and Hannah Castellano added 13 digs for Auburndale.
Hannah Schmitt had seven kills and Hannan had seven assists and six kills to lead Stratford.
Both teams will be back in action Thursday with Auburndale hosting Abbotsford and Auburndale playing at Greenwood in nonconference matches.