Highland junior middle hitter Olivia LaPorta

Kendrick had four kills, Hudson added three and Tharp pulled up three digs."I think all of our seniors are finding our spots on the floor and how we can help out on the team," Denhart said.Two years ago, CC coach Brad McCarter put a young lineup on the floor, knowing there would be rough times ahead but potential for major success based on the experience gained.The Knights posted back-to-back losing seasons,Granite whisky stones  going a combined 23-35 in 2011 and 2012 after the most successful stretch in program history one that included six straight sectional titles from 2005 to 2010 with three regional titles and a state championship.Tuesday was just the fifth time the Highland girls volleyball team had taken the court in 2013. "We like to load it up at the end of the season," coach Tina Beyer said. "We used to play in a Springfield tournament to open the season, and we started every year 0-5. We pulled out of that about a decade ago, and we've focused on working on getting better in practice early in the season. We feel we will be better skilled and better overall later in the season when we will play a majority of our games.

"The method has been especially fruitful the past two years with the team finishing 28-5 in 2011 and 23-8 in 2012.The Bulldogs' serving was especially strong, as was the play up front by its nice-sized front line."Last year, I don't think our serving was very strong," Highland junior middle hitter Olivia LaPorta, the only returning player from last year's squad, said. "It's something we've really worked on to make it one of strengths."Said Beyer: "We're very aggressive with our serve.Credit Card Size Multi-function Knife  It will lead to a couple more mistakes, but we can live with that."The serving was extremely efficient in the second game. The Bulldogs went on long stretches in which they accumulated points. Sophomore Sami Beyer served them out to a 7-0 lead. Her serving error ended the run, leaving the score at 7-1. Junior Molly Stumpf had an ace and got it to 10-1 before her service error made it 10-2.With LaPorta serving, the lead stretched to 16-2. LaPorta had two kills and an ace during the surge, while junior Brooke Hustedde and sophomore Hayley McSparin  had a kill apiece.