SPARTA – To Highland girls volleyball coach Rob Terrill, hosting a district semifinal was not an oddity in a season chock full of them. It still feels like tournament time to him.
A lopsided 25-4, 25-8, 25-17 Scots victory over Lakewood in a Division II district semifinal only served as an opportunity to send off his seniors one final time at home.
The district semifinal round is usually played at a neutral site. But because of COVID-19 alterations, second-seeded Highland, the better seed, hosted.
The Scots (21-1) have three seniors on the roster in Makenna Belcher, Cassidy Sagar and Abby Eusey, who all played in their final home game.
“We played 14 kids tonight,” Terrill said. “We lost some continuity in the third set trying to get the seniors in and out on their last home game … those three seniors have been very important to us.”
For Belcher, it was one final chance to share her home floor with Ashlynn Belcher and Kendall Stover, who are both juniors.
“I’ve played with them for three years, so we’re really close and always on the floor together,” Makenna Belcher said. “This year, we definitely had to take more leadership because Raina (Terry) is gone. That was her role last year. But it’s been really nice having all three of us because we’ve been on the floor together for three years. We’re like a really big family.”
Terry, who stands 6-foot-1, is now a freshman on the University of Illinois women’s volleyball team. Without her, the Scots are a little smaller on the front line.
Stover, Eusey and Emma West each stand at 5-foot-10, making them the tallest on the squad.
“We have a lot of athleticism on the team this year (and) we’re really scrappy and that helps,” Makenna Belcher said.
Stover had 14 kills, Makenna Belcher added 13 kills and Ashlynn Belcher had seven kills and six aces for the Scots against 11th-seeded Lakewood.
Terrill is keeping an eye on what’s going on around the state as his team maneuvers through the tournament in hopes of returning to the state title game for a second year in a row.
“I always try and keep abreast of what’s going on around the state,” Terrill said. “This has been weird because you can’t go scout anybody. So, we’ve had to rely on doing that online. We’ve found some great opportunities out there. But it is different that way.”
Terrill gets to stay at home and watch film online of teams all around the state to prepare for possible matchups later on in the tournament.
With the win over the Lancers (9-15), the Scots travel to top-seeded Jonathan Alder on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. to play for a district title.
“We’ve watched a lot of film on them and they’re definitely a tough team,” Makenna Belcher said. “But I think if we play our game the way we always have, then I think we’ll be pretty good against them.”
