Anytime the Hanover and Atlee girls volleyball teams get together, spectators can expect a battle. Add in the fact that both teams came into last Thursday’s match ranked; Hanover No. 1 and Atlee No. 6; plus the added incentive of the Hawks’ Kristin Carpenter facing off against her father, Atlee coach Curtis Carpenter, and a mere battle turned into a war.

  Though the favored Hawks walked way with the win 25-23,  25-23, 21-25, 25-18, they were pushed and pushed hard by a young Atlee team that has room to grow.

  “That’s a huge confidence builder for us,” Coach Carpenter said. “We’re definitely improving. Matches like this, that is just great for our younger kids and our older kids too because it just gives us that experience and be able to realize we can compete with anybody.”

  Hanover head coach Wendy Wadsworth had nothing but praise for the Atlee effort against her Hawks. “Oh man, you know Atlee is just playing really well,” she said. “And mostly, I’m really impressed with their defense. You could never count a ball down and that kept us really working, working, working.”

  In the first game the score teetered between the two teams through the first eight points but them Hanover jumped ahead 8-4, scoring on a block by Kim Browning and a kill from Taylour Hopkins.

  The lead blossomed to 11-6 before Atlee’s defense stepped into high gear with Rachael Winfrey, Katilynn Allen and Katy Stiles building a wall at the net that allowed the Raiders to outscore Hanover 5-2 to trim the margin to 13-11.

  On an ace by Winfrey, Atlee climbed within one at 15-14. The margin remained virtually the same until the Raiders reeled off three straight points to take the lead 20-19 and forcing Hanover to call a timeout.

  The lead switched back and forth between the two teams until Hanover retied the game at 23 on a kill by Carpenter. The Hawks then notched the next two points to take the win.

  The second game was a virtual repeat of the first with Atlee taking a 21-19 lead only to see Hanover come storming back to win 25-23.

  With their backs against the wall in the third game, Atlee attacked like a cornered wild animal, roaring out to a 9-6 lead on a kill by Allen.

  Hanover tied the game up on back to back aces by Carpenter but on the strength of their defense, Atlee did not back down from the challenge.

  The normally guaranteed points from Carpenter, last year’s region player of the year, were making contact with Raider’s hands rather than the floor.

  “We made some adjustments,” Coach Carpenter said. “I told (my team) ‘they’re going to go to Kristin (Carpenter). You’ve got to cheat to that side or whatever it takes to do that,’ and they got some real nice blocks on them.

  “We kept balls in play that in the past we probably would have gave up on,” Coach Carpenter said.

  Hanover’s coach was also impressed with Atlee’s defense of Carpenter. “It would be a touch off the block and one of their players would scramble after it,” Wadsworth said. “They’d get it back and the ball came back, and it came back, and it came back, so it was just incredible.

  “They dug her several time and she hasn’t been dug that much all season,” Wadsworth said. “It was a great job by the Atlee defense.”

  Hanover bounced back to tie the game at 16 but Atlee outscored the Hawks 9-5 down the stretch to take game three.

  In the fourth game, Hanover jumped on Atlee from the start, taking a 7-3 lead and showing why they are the region’s top team. And Carpenter, who finished the match with 22 kills, 19 digs, four aces and three blocks, showed why she is the region’s top player, firing diagonals between defenders to find open floor time and again. “She hits open holes and she can see,” Wadworth said. “Her ability to see the court and see those openings is unmatched.”

  However, more impressive than Carpenter’s play was Hanover setter Katie Hudencial, who notched an amazing 43 assists in the match. “Forty-three assists in unheard of in four games,” Wadsworth said.

  Though the Raiders made a valiant effort, they got no closer than three the rest of the match.

  However, Coach Carpenter had nothing but pride in his young team’s effort. “We’re probably better than I thought we’d be in the beginning of the season,” he said, pointing out that the team’s only two losses have come to the top two teams in the region. “Heading towards districts and regions, I think we’ll be in good shape.” 

Hanover——————- 25 25 21 25
Atlee——————— 23 23 25 18
Highlights: H- Kristin Carpenter, 22 kills, 19 digs, 4 aces, 3 blocks; Katie Hudencial 43 assists, 13 digs; Taylor Hopkins, 15 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces. A- Rachel Winfrey, 14 kills, 7 digs, 4 blocks; Katilynn Allen, 11 kills, 7 digs, 4 blocks; Meredith Bowers, 30 assists, kill, 6 digs
Records: Hanover 4-0 Captial, 7-2; Atlee 3-1, 5-2.