SETTING THE SCENE: With just one week remaining in the regular season, Milford will have an opportunity to collect two more conference wins as they will face Kings and Withrow for the final conference games in 2016. On Tues., Oct. 11, the Eagles will honor senior Suzy Bullock as she plays her final game on the home court.
A LOOK BACK: Milford headed to Turpin Tuesday for a date with the ECC leader and the #5 ranked team in the area coaches’ poll. The Spartan’s, who returned all of their starters from the 2015 team, took the win over Milford in straight sets; 15-25, 10-25, 17-25.
The Eagles, who are no strangers to matches that go to five sets, came out on top in another long night when they hosted Walnut Hills Thursday. It was another game of back and forth, and the Lady Eagles defeated Walnut Hills, 3-2 to earn the conference win. Milford won set one 25-21, and Walnut followed with a 11-25 win in the second. A 25-19 win then gave the Eagles the advantage, but Walnut Hills followed with a 19-25 win to force the fifth set. The Lady Eagles found themselves down 6-10 in the fifth, but engineered a comeback to win 15-13.
Saturday, Milford headed north to Lebanon for a nonconference meeting. The match began with an exciting first set, when Lebanon hung on for the 29-27 win. The Eagles then evened things out with a 20-25 win in set two, but went on to lose the final two sets, 25-14 and 25-21 for the 3-1 loss.
THE WEEK AHEAD: Milford has two opportunities to improve their conference record, with the regular season concluding this week. Tues., 10/11, the Eagles will honor Suzy Bullock as she plays her final game on the home court.
- Tuesday, 10/11: Kings High School @ Milford, 7:00 pm *Senior Night*
- Thursday, 10/13: Milford @ Withrow High School, 7:00 pm
POSTSEASON – SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT: The OHSAA Sectional Tournament will take place October 17th through October 22nd. The volleyball Eagles will open tournament play against a familiar foe as they will battle ECC rival Kings on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Lakota East High School. Milford is seeded No. 23 for the tournament and will be facing the Knights for the second time in seven days when the first serve goes in the air. Click here to see Milford’s volleyball tournament draw.
INSIDE THE ECC: With just one week left in the regular season, Turpin is the current leader at 11-1. However, the Spartans play second place Anderson (10-2) this week in a match that will determine sole or shared league honors. Loveland is also in the mix at the top, as they are currently tied with Anderson. Kings follows at 6-6, while Walnut Hills and Glen Este are even at 4-8. Milford improved to 3-9 (5-15 overall), and Withrow fell to 0-12 last week with two losses.
Milford leaders in the EEC Rankings and top 10:
- Serves: Lisa Sullivan (5)
- Assists: Abby Thierauf (9), Abby Soutter (10)
- Digs: Sullivan (8)
- Blocks: Erica Sharp (5)
POLL WATCH: Once again, Ursuline Academy received the most votes in week eight of the Cincinnati Enquirer area coaches’ poll, followed by Mason and St. Ursula. However, the ECC’s Turpin moved up one spot to fourth, taking over for Mercy who fell to fifth. Fellow ECC member Anderson entered the poll at tenth. Loveland, previously ranked ninth last week, fell out of the poll but did receive thirteen votes. No other ECC programs, including Milford, received votes in week eight.