No. 1 Senecas fend off pesky Tornadoes in 4 sets

For a regular season match on Sept. 22, Heidelberg's Seiberling Gymnasium was standing room only and the atmosphere felt like a regional final Monday night. Mother Nature might've ruined Spike Night on the football field, but it didn't ruin a top-notch atmosphere and high-quality volleyball as No. 1 Calvert (Division VII) was pushed by Columbian, but came out on top in the end, 25-12, 27-29, 25-23, 25-15."This was exactly what we wanted," Calvert coach Lori Rombach said. "It was definitely a postseason environment, it felt like a regional final or state semifinal game just because of the environment. Kaela Jenkins is a beast and she's difficult to deal with and to defend. "Columbian over the years have continued to get better and it was a great game. It was exactly what both of us needed in the middle of the season … a little push as we're on a back-end of the regular-season schedule."The moment of the night came in the second set. After Calvert (14-0) handled the Tornadoes (9-5) in the opening set, Calvert got out to another lead in the second 18-12. But then Jenkins and the Tornadoes started to heat up. She recorded four straight kills and then a block to get TC tied at 18, and then it went back and forth from there as TC finally grabbed the lead when it got to 27-26. A Karris Marinis kill knotted it up, but then a couple errors grabbed TC the win 29-27 as it was just the second set Calvert has dropped all season. The crowd and momentum were on Columbian's side to begin the third, but the championship mettle for the Senecas shined through.Calvert led the third set 19-8 before TC started to again creep back and make the set interesting. The Tornadoes got within 22-20 after a hitting error from the Senecas, which prompted a timeout from Rombach. "We were just playing as six individuals and that was pretty much my message, which was: 'If you want to be a great team you have to play as one and you can't play as six individuals,'" Rombach said in the timeout. "It felt very segregated, it didn't feel like we normally feel. Who knows why that was but we have to be able to work through it. "Certainly, I didn't want that to happen or with that to happen, but I'm happy with how the girls responded. We have to rally together and play as one. We played together and then we finished the set. I'm proud of the way they responded."The set ended with a Kate Coleman ace.Calvert jumped out to a lead in the fourth set and never relented as all match long – except for the second set – the Senecas took advantage when Jenkins was on the bench and grew the lead. "Of course, you always want to win, but Calvert is an excellent team. I'm very proud of our girls they fought hard even when they were down, the second set showed that," TC coach Hope Boes said. "It's a learning experience. We just have to move forward."We just need to keep working on playing together and communicating together. We don't give up, but we do get down on ourselves a little bit and we have to work our way back some times and we've been working on that throughout the season and we're getting better."Jenkins paced the Tornadoes with 21 kills, two aces, seven blocks and two digs as the Grand Canyon commit showed why she is a force on the volleyball court."She did an excellent job tonight. She's the team leader, she's a captain, but everyone around her lifts her up as well," Boes said. "We just have to bring all aspects of our game together."Avary Brown collected 30 assists and seven digs for the Tornadoes, while Gabby Shock added three kills and three digs, Abby Lewis had three kills and three digs, Lexi Beaston added two kills and six digs, Josie Kancler made 12 digs, Emma Daugherty added eight digs, Erica Raubenolt made 11 digs and Caroline Newlove ended with three blocks.Borgio led the Senecas with 20 kills, 10 digs and three aces. "Those were two Division I athletes going at each other," Rombach said about the battle between Borgio and Jenkins. "I'm sure there was a little bit of … I use the word ego, but not in a negative way, it's in a positive way."Bryn Dircksen dished 40 assists for the Senecas, followed by Emily Miller with 12 kills, Marinis with eight kills, Hope Waire with nine kills, Claire Schoenberger with three aces and 20 digs, Kate Coleman with four aces and nine digs and Gracie Miller with three aces.Of course it was an intense volleyball match, but the atmosphere and all of the money raised going to FACT of Seneca County meant more than just volleyball Monday."A lot of people came out to watch, which was awesome and I'm sure they probably raised a lot of money for FACT," Boes said. "Having the crowd there, it was a lot of fun and the girls were hyped. We didn't get the win, but it was a fun night."