Bulldog sports round-up
- Published: September 3, 2015
Volleyball
Varsity plays tough
The Yellow Springs High School Varsity volleyball team already has several matches under its belt this season. Win or lose, the team is playing tough. “This year’s team has a mixture of experienced players and freshmen,” Coach Christine Linkhart said. “I believe we’re going to come together well over the season. These girls are fun to watch!”
On Saturday, Aug. 29, the Bulldogs took part in a tri-match at Springfield HS. The first match was against the Springfield Wildcats, with the Bulldogs playing a solid game but unable to take the win. Final score was 11–25, 25–17, 17–25. Elizabeth Smith played tough at the net, blocking the Wildcats seven times.
In the second match, against Greenon, the varsity team played some of the best volleyball the Bulldogs have played so far this season. Unfortunately, they lost in a tight match (13–25, 26–28). The Bulldog team captains gave it all they had, with senior Meredith Rowe putting up 4 points, 4 aces, 6 kills and 15 digs, and junior Elizabeth Smith contributing 4 points, 5 kills, 2 blocks and 16 digs.
On Thursday, Aug. 27, the team hosted their first home match of the season, against Spring Valley Academy. The Bulldogs handled the Stallions easily, winning in three games (25–12, 25–14, 25–14). They were led by Elizabeth Smith with 19 points, 2 aces, 4 digs, 4 blocks and 1 kill. Kasey Linkhart played her part with 15 points, 6 aces and 9 assists, along with Elle Peifer, who contributed 11 points, 3 aces, 3 kills and 5 digs.
On Monday, Aug. 24, the Bulldogs traveled to Stivers to take on the Tigers in a nonconference match. The Bulldogs came away with the win (25–11, 25–13, 25–16). The entire team played very well, but was led by Rowe with 9 kills, 8 points, 4 aces and 3 digs, and Smith with 19 points, 3 aces, 7 kills, 2 assists and 3 digs.
The Bulldogs opened the season with a tri-match, played on Saturday, Aug. 22, against Greeneview and Cedarville. In their first match, against the Cedarville Indians, the Bulldogs couldn’t seem to connect against the Indians’ strong offense, dropping the match in two sets (17–25, 13–25). Senior Madeline Neilsen played hard and kept the team pumped up, contributing 4 points, 1 kill, 2 digs and 1 block, while freshman Payden Kegley had 2 points and 9 digs.
By the second game of the day against Greeneview, the Bulldogs had shaken their first-game jitters and came out fighting. Greeneview wouldn’t back down, but the Bulldogs fought to win the match (25–20, 21–25, 25–23). The Bulldogs were helped by juniors Kasey Linkhart (8 points, 2 aces, 1 kill, 19 assists, 7 digs) and Elizabeth Smith (2 points, 2 kills, 5 assists, 19 digs), as well as freshman Alex Ronnebaum (8 points, 4 aces, 10 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks).
JV shows teamwork, skills
The JV team battled hard in the Springfield tri-match on Saturday, Aug. 29, but came up short against Springfield (12–25, 17–25) and Greenon (17–25, 15–25). The Bulldogs were led by Lorien Chavez with 9 points, 4 aces, 4 kills and 2 assists. Despite the scores, the JV team showed great teamwork and volleyball skills.
On Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Bulldogs played against the Stivers Tigers, winning 22–25, 26–24, 25–15. Senior libero Dy’Meisha Banks kept the Bulldogs in the game by contributing 7 digs and 8 aces. Sophomore right-side Ayanna Madison contributed 5 kills and 3 digs.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, the JV team lost a quad match against Cedarville and Greeneview.
Soccer
Girls fall to West Carrollton
Coming off a pre-season victory against Division I Fairborn JV and a game against a talented YSHS alumnae team, the Bulldogs were ready to face Division I West Carrollton in the season opener on Aug. 24.
The team showed up ready to play and were pushing forward, but West Carrollton had a quick counter and scored early in the game. The Bulldogs defense, led by senior Captain Ursula Kremer and sophomore Amani Wagner, kept momentum and continued playing as a unit. Sophomore defenders Greta Kremer and Evalynn Orme effectively shut down the crosses and forced the ball into the middle.
West Carrollton had some good opportunities at the goal before midfielders senior Captain Alice Miller and junior Hannah Morrison moved the ball forward to sophomore Madison Kellar on the front line. Kellar and senior Ayeshia Allison produced two good opportunities at goal, but were unable to find the net. In the second half, a reenergized Bulldog team engaged in back-and-forth play until West Carrollton made two quick goals at the halfway mark. The Bulldogs did not give up, and sophomore Jasmine Davidson had several shots on goal that were stopped by the West Carrollton goalkeeper. West Carollton put one more in the net before the end of the game to make it 4–0.
The Bulldogs were scheduled to play at home on Mon., Aug. 31, against Springfield High School, but both teams were defeated by a storm delay. The game will be rescheduled for a date in September.
Boys soccer kicks off with decisive win
The YSHS boys soccer team kicked off the season on Thursday, Aug. 27, with a decisive win over Columbus International, 6–1. The team played its first home game on Wednesday, Sept. 2. Read more in the Sept. 10 edition of the News.
Cross country
Boys best 2014 times in 5K
The YSHS cross-country team members ran solidly at the Northwestern Warrior XC Classic, their first meet of the season, on Saturday, Aug. 29. Several returning runners bested their 2014 times for the same meet. Levi Brown led the Bulldogs in the Boys 5K event, finishing 23rd in 19:03, a minute faster than 2014. Zach Brintlinger-Conn ran to 65th in 20:56, nearly six minutes faster than 2014, and Donnie Isenbarger finished 86th at 23:37, shaving 2:76 off his 2014 time.
In the same Boys 5K, Bulldogs Zach Lugo finished at 73rd in 21:50; Kaden Boutis at 77th in 21:52; Jack Runyan at 81st in 22:06; and Grant Crawford at 83rd in 22:47.
McKinney girls make strides
At the Northwestern Classic, McKinney cross-country runners Jude Meekin and Maya Creighton made strong strides in the Girls 5K, finishing 27th (24:26) and 38th (25:26) respectively.
McKinney runner Sean Adams finished an impressive 16th in the MS boys 3200, clocking in at 13:37.
Coach Jeff Collins noted, “We are a very young team.” Of the 20 current members, two are seniors and two juniors; the rest are sophomores and freshmen.
No comments yet for this article.