By GREG BURTON
Special to Southern Indiana Preps
NEW ALBANY—One streak continued at
32. Another ended at 35.
The Class 4A No. 3 Providence
Pioneers matched up with New Albany Thursday night in The Doghouse in the first round of the Class
4A New Albany Sectional. The match was a bittersweet one for each coach
involved.
Providence coach Terri Purichia
advanced with a three-set sweep of the host Bulldogs. The victory moved
Providence to 33-1 on the season and extended the Pioneers’ winning streak to
32 straight matches, a school record. The Pioneers won 25-11, 25-12, 25-11.
Purichia was obviously pleased with
the win, but did not look forward to playing New Albany.
The reason was simple: New Albany
coach John Breeding had already announced his retirement from coaching the
Bulldogs after 35 years. A loss in the tournament meant his time was finished
at that point. Purichia did not savor facing an emotional New Albany team, and
having her team putting an end to Breeding’s time.
“I was just a smidge disappointed
when I saw the draw because we were in a really tough position, having to face
that team in what could possibly have been John’s last match,” said Purichia.
“I was really torn about that because I have really great respect for John
Breeding as a coach and as a man.”
Breeding was emotional afterwards, but also very proud of his team.
“It’s over for me now. It’s pretty tough. It’s time and I’ve got all kinds of emotions,” he said.
Breeding was emotional afterwards, but also very proud of his team.
“It’s over for me now. It’s pretty tough. It’s time and I’ve got all kinds of emotions,” he said.
The first half of the first set saw
New Albany play its best. Although Providence never trailed, the Bulldogs
stayed close early. After a service error by Providence, New Albany trailed
just 10-7.
“It was intense,” said Purichia. “I
knew that they were going to come out smoking guns, and that’s what they did.
They had a great crowd and great energy, and it took us awhile to get into our
rhythm. His (Breeding’s) team played so hard in that first set.”
Providence kicked into gear at that
point and outscored New Albany 15-4 to end the first set. At one point, the
Pioneers reeled off six consecutive points on sophomore Ceci Rush’s service,
effectively putting the game away.
The biggest hitter for the Pioneers
in the first set was Marissa Hornung, who had seven kills. The senior finished
the night with 12 kills. Her sister Ali, a freshman, led the team with 13
kills. Teammate Courtney Glotzbach also recorded double digit kills with 10.
The second set the Pioneers jumped
out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back. New Albany clawed its way back into
the set at 9-5. But once again Providence answered with a run, this time 5-0 on
the serve of Lilly Bivens.
Bivens had an outstanding night in
setting up the big hitters. She finished with 42 assists.
Providence had another run a short
while later on Maggie Purichia’s serve to make the score 21-8, and the Pioneers
were on their way to the 25-12 set victory.
New Albany (20-14) opened the third
set on an ace by Bree Martin for a 1-0 lead. This was the only lead the
Bulldogs had the entire night.
The Pioneers struck back quickly
and removed any remaining suspense. A five-point rally on the serve of Rush
stretched the lead to 11-3. Later, Madison Kruer’s serve produced a four-point
rally, giving the Pioneers a 20-7 advantage.
Providence closed out the third set 25-11.
One of the things Providence worked
hard to do was to prevent New Albany senior Allyson Cathey from taking over the
match. They were effective at doing this. Cathey ended up with 11 kills.
“We could not let Allyson have the
kind of game like she had the first time they played us, where I think she had
something like 17 kills,” said Coach Purichia. “She was just a monster, and she
has the ability to beat you single-handedly.
“Two things we felt like we had to
do better than New Albany, and that was serve and pass. We focused on our
serving and passing. No matter who we play, that is what is going to win it or
lose it. Tonight our serving was really good, and our passing was really
good. That opens up a lot of doors. We have some girls up front who can really
hit the ball, and if we can get them the ball, then they can take care of it.”
Breeding liked the way his team
played, despite the sweep.
“Here is what I was proud of - we
played hard to the very end, and that’s what we talked about, play with pride
and play with heart, never give up.
“Since the beginning of the year,
we’ve come a long, long way. We’ve played well the last two weeks. I’m so proud
of the kids tonight. I know the score does not say this. But as a coach, I know
when they’re playing hard. They didn’t pout, they didn’t fight with each other,
they fought hard to the very end, and that’s all you can ask for.”
For Terri Purichia, moving on,
advancing is much more important than 32 wins in a row.
“I just try to focus on the very
next one,” she said. “I’m not really very good at keeping track of that stuff.
It doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. I think it’s important for our fans, but
those things are not motivation for me.”
Her team’s accomplishments this
year has surprised even her.
“I never thought the season would
go like this with the team that I have, and the youth we have on this team. I’m
so proud of them. They keep setting the bar higher, and then they smash it and
keep raising it. The pride that I have with this team is overwhelming.”
Providence will play Floyd Central in the sectional semifinals at
approximately 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
PROVIDENCE
3, NEW ALBANY 0
Providence
25 25 25
New
Albany 11
12 11
PROVIDENCE
STATS
Ali Hornung 13 kills
Marissa Hornung 12 kills
Courtney Glotzbach 10 kills
A. Hornung 8 digs
M. Horning 8 digs
Lilly Bivens 42 assists
Hanna Mitchell 5 blocks
Ceci Rush 5 aces
NEW ALBANY STATS
Allyson Cathey 11 kills
Shea Collett 6 kills
Kyla Weber 20 assists
Bree Martin 1 ace
Danielle Grant 3 blocks
Cathey 9 digs
Collett 6 digs
Ali Hornung 13 kills
Marissa Hornung 12 kills
Courtney Glotzbach 10 kills
A. Hornung 8 digs
M. Horning 8 digs
Lilly Bivens 42 assists
Hanna Mitchell 5 blocks
Ceci Rush 5 aces
NEW ALBANY STATS
Allyson Cathey 11 kills
Shea Collett 6 kills
Kyla Weber 20 assists
Bree Martin 1 ace
Danielle Grant 3 blocks
Cathey 9 digs
Collett 6 digs
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