Franklin County and South Dearborn played a very close five-set match in Aurora Thursday. Four of the five sets were decided by just two points including an 18-16 fifth which South Dearborn won to take the match 3-2. The full collection of set scores were: 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 26-24 and 18-16.
Jill Mergenthal, Franklin County’s coach, said, “This team left everything on the court in the very tightly matched sets! They showed so much heart, and that did not go unnoticed. They are a great group of girls.”
“I have enjoyed watching them reach new goals and play new positions,” Mergenthal continued. “This team has pushed through ankle injuries (three), concussions (two), SATs and ACTs. We have had over 24 lineup changes since the beginning of this season. With that, they have hopefully learned some valuable lessons. Respect and patience come to mind. Respect because they have now all played a position on the court they had never played. Patience because they found out maybe how hard it was to play the role of setter, back row or front row. We most definitely had obstacles to push through, and I’d say we adapted and overcame every situation we encountered.”
Franklin County reported stats:
- Meredith Hoff- 4 kills, 1 block, 2 assists and 14 digs
- Kiersten Schell- 9 kills and 13 digs
- Saige Mergenthal- 4 kills, 1 solo block, 1 assist and 5 digs
- Stephanie Billman- 1 kill, 13 assists (team high) and 12 digs
- Lauren Stacy- 6 kills, 1 assist and 25 digs (team high)
- Tiffany Billman- 12 kills (team high), 1 block, 2 assists and 7 digs
- Kacie Williams- 12 assists and 13 digs
- Hadlee Hornsby- 8 digs
- Kylie Lea- 10 digs
- Veronica Reeves- 7 digs
South Dearborn stat leaders from Max Preps:
- Kills-Emily Elliott 27, Lillie Davis 15
- Aces- Arynn Kunkel 8, Riley Lagaly 5
- Total Blocks- no multiples
- Digs- Kunkel 24, Kaylee Thies 15, Lagaly 14, Saige Rogers
- Assists- Lagaly 26, Rogers 25
- Serve Receive- Elliott 34, K. Thies 25, Kunkel 21, R. Thies 16
The SD JV also bested the Wildcats: 23-25, 25-18 and 15-12.
Franklin County JV coach Tana Stang said, “It was a very competitive game and the girls fought to the end; however, they ended up losing in three sets. The girls fought back many points in every set, but the game just did not land in our favor. The JV team ends their regular season 8-11. The girls stayed right with every team we have seen all season as 10 of our 19 games have ended up going three sets.”
Franklin County JV reported stats:
- Tiffany Billman- 9 digs, 5 kills, 5 aces, 1 block and 1 assist
- Chloe Clark- 3 digs, 1 kill, 1 assist and 1 block
- Annie Hoff- 11 digs and 2 kills
- Stephanie Billman- 5 digs and 4 assists
- Cydney Morehead- 3 assists, 1 ace serve and 1 dig
- Bailey Kaiser- 3 digs and 2 kills
- Kristen Ison- 2 aces and 2 digs
- Daphne Stokes- 2 kills and 1 dig
- Vivian Silas- 1 kill
- Piper Twiggs- 1 dig
We thank coaches Mergenthal and Stang along with South Dearborn Volleyball via MaxPreps for the information.