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NP seniors shine in season finale
ROACHDALE--Fall sports are coming to an expeditious end and the finale of the final home games are looming in they eyes of the class of 2015.
North Putnam hosted its final home game of the season Thursday night and for seniors Kaitlin Mindiola and Shay Lucas it was the final home game of their four-year high school career.
"It's hard on them being their last home game," coach Brandy Dickson said. "They should be really proud of their four years here. They have really contributed. Their work in the offseason has really helped grow our program. They have coached youth league teams and probably some of the freshmen and sophomores. They do an excellent job of volunteering at camps and they need to take credit for the success of our program."
The Cougar underclassmen made it a priority to send the seniors out with a victory and the Southmont Mounties were no match on the special night.
"I think they wanted to do it for our seniors," Dickson said. "Our seniors have not beat Southmont since they've been in high school, so I think we went out and played really hard for them."
North Putnam had to go four sets, but they won the final three sets to seal the deal.
Chemistry is the central science for everything and the Cougars owned it. Even in the first set, when they fell short, 25-22, they looked the more dominant team. Junior Taylor Nauert was attacking hard and recorded eight kills in the set and the team had three aces.
Too many errors resulted in the loss for North Putnam. They had 12 in the first set between attacking, serving and violations.
Other than that blemish, North Putnam controlled the pace. Nauert and company hit the ball all over the court, placing the ball in open areas or reversing the court. Ball placing was about as accurate as you could expect from a top high school club.
"Ball placement is a huge factor," Dickson said. "If we can go up like we're going to hit and tip the ball, teams are not going to know what to expect. We do a good job of faking like we're going to swing and actually tip the ball."
The Cougars won the second set easily 25-17. Nauert racked up five more kills, an ace and a block and it was smooth coasting for the rest. She had 26 total kills on the evening and three blocks.
"When we can get the ball to Taylor and be consistent, we can win," Dickson said. "There's no doubt about it. We have to be able to get the ball to Taylor. Taking nothing against our other hitters, Taylor just dominates at the net. The games we've lost have been because we've had troubles getting the ball to her."
Volleyball can flip in a matter of seconds. The Cougars sped out to a 12-3 lead, but the Mounties went on a 5-1 run courtesy of four Cougar errors and an ace. By the end of the set, Southmont had cut it to three, 24-21, and forced the Cougars to call a timeout. They scored the next point on a double touch to win the set 25-21.
There were no concerns and with the Cougars in soul control of the matchup, they took Mindiola and Lucas out with the score 23-14. A standing ovation greeted the emotional seniors.
"It was awesome," Dickson said. "It was great that we could do this. I cannot say enough about Shay and Kaitlin. They are excellent role models. I was really proud of how they played tonight."
Mindiola finished the night with four kills, two aces and a block, while Lucas finished with two aces.
"I thought they played really, really well," Dickson said of the seniors. "Kaitlin came up and had some huge hits for us and Shay is always on defense. She just gets to everything back there."
North Putnam has two more games left against Danville and South Vermillion. Both teams are very solid, but this is in favor of the Cougars. Sectionals will take place at Monrovia in two weeks and Speedway is the team to beat. These tough matchups toward the end of the season, including a Michigan City tournament the Cougars took part in, could be what the Cougars need to win the sectional and be the dark horse.
"I'm glad these teams are tough going into sectionals," Dickson said. "We need to play some tougher teams. We also played some really tough teams last weekend in Michigan City. That helped us prepare. Speedway is going to be the team to beat in sectionals. Anything can happen in volleyball and we're hoping to be that dark horse and come out of no where."
At North Putnam
Southmont 25 17 21 15--1
North Putnam 22 25 25 25--3