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North Posey moves to 8-4 with win over rival Wildcats
By Dennis Marshall
POSEYVILLE, Ind. — North Posey took the Battle for Posey County in straight sets Tuesday, Sept. 8, a match that was cleaner than it was flashy.
The Vikings (8-4, 3-0 PAC) won 25-14, 25-11, 25-14 over the Wildcats (7-9, 1-6 PAC).
“The bragging rights are especially fun when you know a few people from Mount Vernon,” senior Taryn Wilson said. “Just continuing that younger generation and building up and continuing to win.”
Sage Mueller had 11 kills on .471 hitting. Avery Little added 10 kills on .389. Kenna Hoehn served 23-for-23 with five aces.
“Our lack of errors was my favorite part about the evening,” North Posey coach Natalie Macaulay said. “We took care of the ball, took control of the ball. We didn’t let the level of play affect our game.”
Ayela Hoehn finished with 21 assists.
“We had very good connections today with all of our hitters, and we took care of the ball,” Ayela Hoehn said. “Very minimum errors.”
Mount Vernon got seven kills from Stella Hall on .545 hitting, while Josie Harshbarger added four kills.
Evansville North (11-1, 1-1 SIAC) came in as a Class 4A program ranked among the state’s top 20 on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Macaulay called the Huskies one of the better teams in the area, with all the pieces. North has two players headed to the Division I level, one to Troy in Alabama and one to Butler.
“I knew it was going to be a really tough night,” Macaulay said. “So I knew defensively we were going to have to really stand out.”
North won 3-1, taking the first two sets 25-21 and 25-20. Madeline Freels had 18 kills on .342 hitting. Annabelle Freels added 12.
North Posey took the third set 25-12.
Mueller finished the match with 17 kills. Little added 14 kills and three blocks. Kenna Hoehn had 17 digs and three aces. Ayela Hoehn had 26 assists. Ayana Rivera had 11. Wilson served three aces.
Macaulay pointed to Kenna Hoehn’s work in the back row and to that third set.
“Kenna did a great job of trying to manage the back row,” she said. “She had a lot of great digs, a lot of great touches. I was really proud of our third set, taking a set off them.”
At one point it was 19-6.
“Every time we touched the ball, everything was in our favor,” Macaulay said. “Some of it was luck, and some of it was we were just being way more aggressive than they were. They couldn’t find a way to be aggressive back at us, and we just couldn’t make any errors.”
North closed it 25-19, but Macaulay walked away satisfied with the fight, not the result.
“I’ve told the team many times before that if we lose, we’re going to lose with a good battle,” she said. “And that’s going to have me walk away being a happy coach, regardless if we had the win or loss.”
At Memorial (4-7, 1-0 SIAC) on Thursday, Sept. 10, North Posey won 25-23, 25-18, 25-23. The Vikings hit .088 as a team and still left with a sweep. Mueller had 15 kills. Little added nine kills, four aces and two blocks. Ayela Hoehn had four aces and 15 assists. Wilson served three aces. Kenna Hoehn had 21 digs.
“No one really had the match at any point,” Macaulay said. “It was going to be a matter of the last 10 points, of who had the momentum.”
Set three made that literal. North Posey was down 17-20, fought back to match point, then had to win it a second time after Macaulay argued a back-row attack and the point was replayed.
“We had to play game point again and try to win the match for a second time,” Macaulay said.
“And they were able to do it and stay focused. It was obvious that North Posey wanted to win that night.”
Mueller closed the replayed point with an outside attack. Memorial overpassed and the ball went out.
“Every practice we get a little bit more confident in each other’s passes and each other’s sets and each other’s defensive play,” Macaulay said. “It’s kind of a building year, but it doesn’t feel like a building year. Even though technically it is, it doesn’t feel that way because we’re so quick about making the adjustments on and off the court.”
North Posey’s senior night is Tuesday, Sept. 29, against Wood Memorial (3-7, 0-3 Blue Chip).
“I hope that people continue to come out for our home games,” Macaulay said. “It would be great to show some support for our graduating seniors this year.”
