Marion County high school volleyball: Takeaways from Forest and Vanguard rivalry matchup

No matter what sport it is, you can bet there will be passion and intensity when Vanguard and Forest face off.

Thursday night’s volleyball match was no different and it will go down as a classic in the storied rivalry. The Knights were coming in on a three-match win streak while the Wildcats were mired in a slump after losing three of their previous four matches.

Vanguard carried their momentum into the first set by jumping out to a 13-8 lead by way of kills from senior outside hitter Ruby Owen, sophomore outside hitter Lillian Hart and sophomore outside hitter Sarah Beville. The Wildcats put together a four-point run to pull within one before Vanguard finished off the set with 12 consecutive points for a 25-12 win.

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Forest would jump out to a 4-3 lead in the second set and would never relinquish the lead as they evened the match with a back-and-forth 25-22 win behind multiple kills from junior outside hitter Kailyn Howard and additional help from junior Ava Kuentjes, sophomore Avery O’Cull and junior Dallas Papy.

The third set was another tough battle as the Wildcats took down the Knights 25-23, with the set point coming on an errant spike into the net from Vanguard. The Knights came back with a vengeance in the fourth set with a 16-7 lead before the Wildcats put the pressure on with a 16-8 run before Owen’s fifth kill of the set led to a 25-23 win, which forced a fifth and final set to decide a winner.

In the final set, it was another battle as neither team had more than a two-point lead. With the score tied at 12, the Wildcats scored the last three points of the match with a kill from Papy and a service ace by sophomore Ava Herren to give Forest a thrilling 15-13 win.

Here are the takeaways from the match.

Young Forest players step up for a playoff-like matchup

Wildcats head coach Jimmy Collins has a young team with only one senior, and he has made a concerted effort to get the freshman and sophomores valuable playing time throughout the season. Thursday’s match provided a playoff atmosphere as the Forest student section was packed and full of energy along with a large group of Vanguard students traveling that led to a raucous crowd all night.

O’Cull, Herren, freshman Allison Hamm, Gracie Martineau, Sarah McDonnell and sophomore Holly Gomez all made big plays and played a pivotal role in the win.

“This is huge for our younger girls; we played five freshman tonight. So, it is big for those underclassmen to know they can play at this level in the big games and this atmosphere,” Collins said.

Herren had the match-winning service ace and 21 digs on the night. O’Cull had four aces and 13 total service points, Gomez had five aces and Martineau had multiple blocks on the front line. Hamm was second on the team with seven kills and Kuentjes had a huge night with 46 assists.

This group of freshman and sophomores are critical to the Wildcats chances of playoff success as they aim for a district championship.

Absence of Knights senior leader Emma Ehmann

Emma Ehmann, out with an injury, leads the Knights with 121 kills but her absence gave opportunities to Owen, Hart and senior Sophia Reed.

The trio of Owen, Hart and Reed dominated at times by using their height advantage to attack on offense for the entirety of the matchup. For Knights head coach Luis Perez, he knew others would have to step up with Ehmann out and he was not disappointed.

“Their performance was really good. Usually we play a five-one and Sophia doesn’t get to hit but she got to hit today, and she got a bunch of kills. You can see the kind of kid she is, if you need her to set, she will do it and if you need her to hit, she will do it,” he said.

He added, “Having hitters that are able to hit and control their contact and control their side, that’s a plus.”

The three outside hitters combined for 48 kills (28 for Owen, 11 for Hart and 9 for Reed). Reed made her presence felt everywhere as she added 38 assists, seven aces and three digs. Owen also had 17 digs and four aces on the night.

Wildcats' Kailyn Howard continues to excel

The junior outside hitter came into the match leading the team with 54 kills on the season and she showed up in a handful of crucial moments tonight.

“The mindset for me was just trying to keep my team together in the sense of on and off the court. I knew as one of our team captains that I had to execute, and all the girls did amazing as well. But my main goal for tonight was to incorporate the purpose of family on the court because when you don’t have a family on the court, you don’t have anything,” she said.

As the matches wore on, Howard seemed to get more into a groove and did not allow fatigue to affect her play as she led the Wildcats with 17 kills.

Vanguard hangs tough on the road

Forest may have one of the best student sections in the state of Florida and they showed up in full force to try and throw the Knights off their game.

The Knights appeared to be motivated by the crowd noise and had their own student section supporting them, but for Coach Perez, he was pleased with how the team performed under pressure.

“They played really well; our side was really crowded as well, and it was good to see. It was a great atmosphere and they played great, we played great also. I love playing here and playing against them because they are good competition and it’s a great rivalry,” he said.

Looking ahead

The Knights fell to 7-8 on the season and will look to bounce back when they host Trinity Catholic next Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. For the Wildcats, they move to 6-6 on the season and will host South Lake at 7 p.m. Monday.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school volleyball: Ocala Forest outlasts Vanguard in five sets