WHITEHALL — It was a long night for Shelby at the Whitehall Tri Thursday, as the Tigers played two matches that each went the maximum three games. Shelby went 1-1, rallying to beat Whitehall 25-27, 25-17, 25-20, and falling to Kent City 25-20, 19-25, 25-22.
The Tigers were very impressive against Whitehall, bouncing back from a close game one defeat to control most of the remaining two games. They hit .233 for the match, with a strong two-way performance by Briar Peters (18 digs, 10 kills) leading the way. Peters also had five aces.
"One
of the things we emphasized earlier in the week, following our loss (to Hart) on
Tuesday, was the need for our hitters to be more aggressive and finish
points more efficiently, and they definitely made that adjustment against
both Whitehall and Kent City," Shelby coach McKenna Peters said. "Our
defense was a huge part in why we were able to hit more efficiently.
They were gritty and picked up balls that we hadn't been in previous
games."
Kylie Brown was at the service line for a key scoring run by the Tigers (4-10) in game three against Whitehall that helped lead to the win. She also led the offense on the night with 17 kills. Shelby's serving was dynamic much of the night, with Brylee Friedman's eight aces tops among a trio of Tigers who had at least five. Peters led the defense with 32 digs, and setter Peyton Rapes lined up 46 assists.
Shelby had chances to knock off Kent City as well, grabbing a 10-3 lead in game one before the Eagles stormed back to win that. After a strong performance in game two, Shelby seized an early 8-1 lead in game three and led for almost the entire game until Kent City surged late to steal the win and the match.
Peters credited Ariana Garza with good defensive work against Kent City, as she tallied 15 digs in that match alone.
"Serve receive was much more consistent, and we were able to get
our setter in a good spot to run our middles, Kylie and Hali (Hayes), more
efficiently," Peters said.
