Ryle middle hitter Mackenzie Allen wanted to improve her blocking, so she tried a new technique at the last team practice. She was surprised it worked so quickly. The 6-foot-1 sophomore had a career-high 11 blocks in a 25-15, 25-15 victory over Simon Kenton Tuesday in Pioneers territory. The converted right-side hitter lifted Ryle, ranked fourth in the Enquirer coaches' poll, over No. 5 Simon Kenton, and avenged Simon Kenton's defeat of Ryle three days earlier in the Bluegrass Invitational. Allen figured she was mostly in the right place at the right time Tuesday, but added that her new blocking approach was a big help. "I used to turn toward the hitter, and that wouldn't work out for me because (the ball) would go out of bounds," Allen said. "Now I'm not looking at the hitter. I thought it would be weird not to, but it seems to help me a lot." Allen denied the Pioneers kills and tips, capitalizing on their misses for Raiders points. She also worked alongside junior Alyson Harmeling in an effective blocking tandem the team calls the Twin Towers.
Coach Tasha Tanner said the Raiders (9-4) were eager to face Simon Kenton again, if only for revenge. The Pioneers' semifinal defeat went to three games and ended Ryle's tournament run in Lexington. Simon Kenton (15-8) finished as runner-up.
Tanner said Ryle's biggest problem in the tournament was defending the Pioneers' frequent tips.
"Yesterday in practice we worked a lot on blocking, as you could see with Mackenzie, and we worked a lot on defense: being on our toes, reading the hitter, picking up blocks. I think all of that helped," Tanner said.
The Raiders relied on their offense first, breaking open a 4-4 game with help from Harmeling's 13 kills. Junior right-side hitter Sarah Buhler landed two kills and a tip as the Raiders reeled off six straight points.
Despite several long rallies and kill attempts by Simon Kenton's Shelby Graham, the Raiders fended off a comeback for a first-game win.
The second game was all Ryle.
"Our team was completely and totally off tonight," Pioneers coach Rebecca Volpe said.
It wasn't the same club that went 5-3 in the Bluegrass Invitational, and it didn't take control early like in the first match against the Raiders.
Libero Carly Becker corralled many of Harmeling's kill attempts, staving off potential damage. Other Pioneers gems were sophomore Kristen Pace, who had a pair of kills, and setter Meagan Dunn, who surprised Ryle with a second-game tip. But Allen had back-to-back blocks that preceded two Harmeling kills, and soon Ryle was up 9-3. The rattled Pioneers hit balls into the net and succumbed to Allen's moving wall, trailing by as many as 10 points. Ryle setter Elena Herbstreit notched 21 assists, including the one that led to Harmeling's match-ending slam.
"We had better intensity tonight," Harmeling said. "We wanted to play them on their home court, so we started off better and came out strong."
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