By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada volleyball team lost in three sets to visiting MAC powerhouse Coldwater Thursday evening in a non-league match as Bulldog senior Melina Woods reached a program milestone.
The Bulldogs (3-2) fell to the unbeaten Cavaliers 25-10, 25-15, 25-22 but Woods became the first player in Ada annals to reach 1,000 career kills midway through the third set.
The versatile southpaw Woods knocked down 17 kills and added 11 digs, two blocks and one ace in the match.
"The 1,000 kills put a lot of pressure on everyone," said Ada head coach Melissa Gossard. "Melina had to adjust to Coldwater's blocking (schemes). She had to hit to the holes and tip; she started seeing the openings after the first set."
Coldwater raced to a 10-1 lead early in set one, including two big block kills against the Ada standout. The Bulldogs inched within 18-9 on consecutive Woods kills, but Coldwater ended on a 7-1 flurry and ran off the last six points to take the first game easily.
"They were running a triple-block on me so I had to start tipping a lot," explained Woods.
Two Woods kills kept Ada close 5-4 early in game two. The Cavs reeled off a 7-1 spurt before Nikki Lehsten came up with a kill for the purple and gold. A pair of Lauren Gilliland kills were offset by a Woods tip dink and her cross court kill.
Bulldog Raina England mustered a clean hit to the open back to cap a 5-1 Ada flurry, leading them within 15-12. Yet Coldwater answered with a 5-0 run to regain control at 20-12.
Two Woods kills kept Ada in it before Tasha Kahlig responded with a huge cross-court smash to reach game point. Elena Knapke finished it 25-15 with a left-handed tip to the open short spot.
Coldwater jumped in front 6-2 in set three after a Taylor Siefring smash. Ada hung close and pulled within 12-8 on a successful Woods hit which proved to be her 1,000th career kill.
Lehsten, Maddie Gossard and Woods added kills for surging Ada. An ace by Woods and a back row kill by the senior standout cut the deficit to 17-15.
Sophomore Sidney Gossard then fired three service aces to give Ada its first lead of the night. A Woods kill on the sideline provided the biggest Bulldog advantage at 20-17.
"Sidney served well in the third set," noted the coach.
But then a serve into the net after a Cav timeout ended the momentum. Coldwater ran off the next three points, capped by a Kahlig kill, to regain the lead at 21-20.
Coldwater served wide to tie it one last time at 21-all. A Gilliland kill gave the Cavs the lead back for good. The teams traded hitting errors, and then Gilliland hit one off the top of the net that dropped on the sideline to reach match point.
Kahlig then fired a serve that Ada could not return to clinch the third set and the match, 25-22.
"Defensively Coldwater's back three covered everything, so all their front row had to do was block and hit," said Gossard. "They were very athletic.
"Olivia Alexander had one one of the best defensive and passing matches I have ever seen from her," Gossard continued. Senior libero Alexander came up with 20 digs.
Maddie Gossard passed out a dozen assists, made seven digs and added two kills. Sidney Gossard served three aces and doled out eight assists.
Ada (2-2 home) hosts another local non-league rival in Ben Logan Monday night.
Woods 1st Ada spiker to reach 1,000 kills
By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Ada senior Melina Woods became the first player in Bulldog volleyball program history to attain the 1,000 career kills mark Thursday in a 3-0 home loss to powerhouse Coldwater.
"It couldn't have happened to a better person," said Ada head coach Melissa Gossard. "She has worked very hard to become the first person in Ada history with that many kills. The girls all wanted it for her. It also takes a good defense and setter to get to 1,000."
Woods, the reigning two-time Northwest Conference Player of the Year, knocked down 17 kills in the three-set defeat. The southpaw's clean smash midway through the third game that pulled Ada within 12-8 served as kill number 1,000.
The appreciative home crowd gave Woods a nice ovation, and she was presented with balloons by Ada athletic director Ken Jochims to celebrate the milestone.
"I had it (1,000) in the back of my mind, but my main focus was on the team and trying to get a win," said Woods. "We finished strong in the third set. Coldwater is probably the best team we will face all season until the tournament. Playing them is good preparation for the NWC.
When asked what reaching 1,000 kills meant to her, she said, "It means my hard work and dedication have paid off. Not many people get to reach that number in their careers.
"But it wouldn't have been possible without my setter Maddie (Gossard)," she pointed out. "We have a good connection from playing together for so long, since fourth grade."
Woods will be attending Div. I Canisius in Buffalo, New York on scholarship next fall to play volleyball and major in chemistry/pre-medicine.
"It was the right fit for me academically and athletically," she explained. "I wanted to go to school in a big city and at a place where volleyball won't be bigger than academics."
Rhode Island and Dayton were other schools she seriously considered.
But for now it is on to trying to three-peat as NWC champs and add several hundred more kills to her program record before she hangs up her Bulldog uniform.
