VOLLEYBALL: Fifth games become part of Huron's 2009 story

As the final point crashed to the floor in Huron’s five-game win over Middletown Bishop Fenwick, all six Huron players on the court fell to the ground and let it soak in for a few brief seconds.

They had done it again.

Friday’s win — which put the Lady Tigers in the Division III state championship match today — is the sixth five-game match they have played in 28 matches this season. They are 4-2 in those matches after Friday.

Is the 2009 season for Huron defined by the stressful Game 5?

“Yes, it definitely is,” said junior Taryn Graham. “We’ve been in that position several times, and it was almost a relief when we got to a fifth game. We knew losing ... was not an option. It was definitely exciting.”

Huron opened with a five-game loss at Edison, losing the fifth game, 15-9. Just four matches later, they topped Kettering Fairmont, 15-8, to win and then went the distance with Edison again, this time winning 15-9.

A match with a state-ranked Division I team in Findlay also went five games, but the Lady Tigers were on the short end of that one, 15-10.

But suddenly, the Lady Tigers have played back-to-back five-game matches that both took over two hours as a five-game win (15-9) against previously unbeaten Archbold in the regional championship last week preceded Friday’s win over Fenwick.

Huron senior Jesse Miedema said earlier in the week she was looking forward to the first point of the match, to let everyone know the Lady Tigers had arrived to the state’s biggest stage.

Her mindset changed a bit after the five-game win.

“After that last point in Game 5 ... everyone knows we’re here and came to play,” Miedema said. “It probably didn’t look like that throughout the match, but were here and ready for (today). It’s just point by point now.”

Fenwick coach Yoon Ha felt Huron was the calmer and more collected team in the last game.

“We had come back from an 11-4 deficit in Game 5 last week to get here against Versailles,” Ha said. “So I was very confident in the girls going into it. Even when it was 13-9, I felt we had a chance.

“I think it probably hit me when they got to 14-10 lead. Don’s teams play, I don’t want to say conservative, but they don’t make a lot of errors where we play more aggressive. When they keep the ball in play, you’re going to have to earn every point and we didn’t do that.”

Perhaps senior captain Melissa Moberg summed up the Lady Tigers Game 5 tribulations best.

“We like to make things exciting,” Moberg said.