Ladybird Soccer beats Girls GCL leaders; Volleyball Goes 3-2 in JCIVT |
| PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands sophomores Audrey Graves (8) and Ava Hockney (26) go up for a block in a game earlier this year. Highlands went 3-2 in the JCIVT over the weekend to move to 19-9 on the season equaling last year's win total. |
Highlands finished 1-1 against teams from the Cincinnati-area private all-girls league. Highlands lost 1-0 to the Ursuline Academy Lions on Aug. 19 in Blue Ash. St. Ursula (8-4-1) has clinched the league championship with a 4-0 record. The other five teams have at least two losses in league play. The Ladybirds finished the regular season with three straight wins.
"We know St. Ursula might have been one of the best teams, if not the best team, we have played all year," said Brian Wiefering, Highlands Head Coach. "Some of our gifted players were nursing sore ankles and sore hips so to come out with a win under those circumstances shows that not only we are deep, but we are as good as I tell them they are every day."
Highlands junior Linsdsey Meyer scored all three goals for a hat trick lifting her total to 14 on the season and Hanna Buecker had two assists bringing her total to seven on the year. The first goal off a Buecker corner kick skimmed off Maria Wiefering's head to Meyer for the header.
But Highlands found itself in a similar situation after that goal to the 4-1 loss to Notre Dame on Monday. The Pandas went up 2-1 in the second half on a penalty kick and scored two more to pull away.
After that game, Coach Wiefering and staff challenged the Ladybirds to not get down and undisciplined after giving up goals and they responded in the second half. Meyer's second goal came off a Buecker corner kick and the second one came on a penalty kick in the 73rd minute.
"After the Notre Dame game, we really picked it up," said Hannah Gish, Highlands junior defender. "We really took (Coach Wiefering's challenge) to heart and we left it out on the field. One of the goals was my fault. But after that goal, my coach and teammates came up to me and said it was a team effort for that goal to get scored. It was everyone's fault for the ball to get back there so that kind of lifts up your self-confidence. Our team has bonded so close that it helps us. Our coaches tell us to keep going but everyone talks to each other and builds each other up."
Highlands sophomore Maria Wiefering drew the penalty going for a loose ball. St. Ursula's goalkeeper grabbed Maria Wiefering and threw her to the ground.
St. Ursula had 19 shots to 12 for Highlands. But Ladybird sophomore goalkeeper Maggie Hinegardner had 13 saves.
Highlands does not play again until Oct. 10 in the 36th District semifinals. The Ladybirds face either host Newport or Bellevue at 8 p.m.
Volleyball:
Ladybirds equal last season's win total:
The Highlands Ladybirds volleyball team (19-9 overall) went 3-2 in the Jefferson County Invitational Volleyball Tournament to finish the season 11-3 in in-season tournaments. Highlands went 4-0 last weekend to win its own Cake Classic and finished 4-1 in the September Slam at Scott on Sept. 1 and 2.
The win total equals last year's victory total. Highlands finished 19-17 last year to finish with its first winning season since 2010. Highlands Head Coach Katelyn Sallee said the Ladybirds are doing better finding ways to win this year.
"We have begun to have a deeper belief in our ability to beat teams that corner us," Sallee said. "I saw us make some adjustments this weekend that led us to clawing our way out of big holes."
Highlands took down Whitefield Academy, 2-0 (25-11, 25-12) on Friday and lost to Cooper, 2-0 (25-22, 25-20). Against Whitefield Academy, junior Olivia Gessner had five aces and six digs. Casey Dunn had eight kills and Margot Seidel had seven and Audrey Graves had 21 assists. Seidel and Gracie Schweitzer had eight digs each.
"Coach Sallee's enthusiasm really makes the team work hard to push ourselves to become better," said Laura Winkler, Highlands freshman setter/right-side hitter. "She never lets us use excuses to accept losing, but encourages us to try our hardest every time."
The Cooper game saw Graves record 29 assists and Dunn record 14 kills with Seidel adding 11. Schweitzer had 17 digs and Dunn added 12 with Seidel digging up 10 balls.
The Ladybirds then beat South Oldham, 2-0 (25-15, 25-14) and Lexington Catholic, 2-1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-22) and lost to Louisville Ballard, 2-0 (25-17, 25-23) on Saturday. Against South Oldham, Seidel had 14 kills and 12 digs. Dunn had three aces, six kills and 15 digs and Schweitzer had 11 digs. Graves added 24 assists.
Against Ballard, Highlands saw Dunn record 15 kills and Graves put up 29 assists. Schweitzer recorded 24 digs and Seidel had 14 kills.
Highlands takes on Boone County on Tuesday. Game time is 7 p.m. in Florence.
Soccer, Boys:
Lexington Henry Clay 4, Highlands 1:
Highlands (10-6 overall) dropped its second straight against the Blue Devils (14-2-2). The teams were tied 1-1 at halftime.
Junior Carter Holmes scored the lone goal for the Bluebirds. Senior Elias Ordonez assisted it.
Highlands travels to Ryle on Tuesday. Game time is 7:45 p.m.
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