Sky High 16s fly into Select Division Championship play

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Scott Harris had just one request. 
 
“Conserve your energy. Conserve your energy,” the Sky High Adidas 16’s head coach informed his players prior to Sunday.
 
Why? Sky High had to work for its 2-1 opening day during their efforts Saturday at the TC NIT. The Illinois-based club located just north of Chicago went to three sets in all three pool play contests.
 
“They like to make it tough,” Harris said with a laugh. “They dig a hole and have to climb out of it the hard way.”
 
Setter Jenna Meitzler was also relieved to play three fewer sets than the previous days.
 
“Today, we had a lot of energy because we didn’t go to three sets,” she said.
 
That’s right, Meitzler and her teammates gave their coach a break with a 3-0 Sunday, capped with a straight set victory (25-19, 25-20) over Colorado-based Momentum. 
 
In the win, Sky High used a 10-4 run to take the first set. The final set was more of a back-and-forth affair, with a 7-3 burst to seal the deal. 
 
“They’re starting to execute things more consistently like combo plays, which we need in our offense,” Harris said. 
 
“We tried a lot of combos just to throw off their blockers,” Meitzler said,  “which we worked a lot on in practice. And just staying up beat and working together.”
 
With the victory, Sky High moves into the Select Division Championship bracket and will play in a semifinal match at 10:30 a.m. Monday against the winner of OK Charge-Illini Elite. 
 
Harris just hopes he sees the Day 2 Sky High squad that did not drop a set. 
 
“They’ve gained more confidence since they’ve been there,” Harris said. “Things are starting to come together for them and we’ll take that into tomorrow.”
 
So does Meitzler.
 
“I think we got rid of our tired and anxious nerves,” Meitzler said, “and we just have to do that again.”