Vorst, Lepley garner PCL honors By Charlie Warnimont
Sentinel Sports Editor
COLUMBUS GROVE - Kelly Lepley stepped into a good situation at Columbus Grove.
As a first year coach, Lepley came into a program that featured several talented athletes. Lepley was able to mold these players into a solid unit that helped them go unbeaten in the Putnam County League this fall.
Among the players she inherited was senior Mackenzie Vorst. Vorst turned out to be a star player for the Bulldogs during their successful season.
That is why the two Bulldogs picked up top honors in the PCL this season as Lepley was named Coach of the Year and Vorst was named the Player of the Year.
Vorst headline a first team that included Kalida's Julia Fuerst, Leipsic's Chelsea Gerten, Miller City's Dana Otto, Ottoville's Samantha Modica and Natasha Kaufman and Pandora-Gilboa's Kristyn Hovest.
Lepley had a very successful first season for the Bulldogs as they finished 5-0 in the PCL and 18-3 in the regular season. The Bulldogs didn't stop there as they advanced to the regional finals.
"I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls for my first year or a better program to step into," Lepley said. "I just really kept it going. Jody (Benda) built it up and had everything in place, all I had to do is step in and make it happen and it happened for us this year.
"I have to give credit to my staff for helping to keep everything together. She (Jody) built it up and we had a fantastic year going farther than any other Bulldog team has gone. We did it one practice at a time and one game at a time. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot."
Vorst, a senior was one of the Bulldogs leaders this season as she was not only a big time hitter for Grove, but also an emotional leader.
"She's an elite athlete," Lepley said. "She's good at what ever she does and she makes the people around her better. It looks easy, but she has put in a lot of hard work to make herself better."
Vorst had a solid season for the Bulldogs pounding 328 kills with a 28 percent hitting percentage. She had 95 blocks this season along with 320 digs and 40 aces as she was an all-around player which was one area she worked hard on this season to become a complete player.
"She was a good back row player," Lepley said. "Most girls her size just play the front row, but we kept her there because we not only needed a leader on the floor at all times, she was the best person for the job. We saw her improve in little areas this year, like knowing when to tip at the net and when to hit it. She also was able to keep her teammates positive and that will be important when she gets to college."
For her career Vorst pounded 833 kills, had 215 blocks, 124 aces and 696 digs.
Fuerst, a senior, was key for Kalida as she pounded 302 kills, served up 35 aces and put 267 blocks in play, 109 solo.
Gerten, a senior, had 247 kills this season as she 825 attempts with 734 in play. She served up 13 aces, had nine solo blocks, 15 assists and 370 digs.
Otto, a senior, had a solid year for Miller City as she led the team with 42 service aces, 182 kills and 55 blocks for points. She was successful on 97 percent of her serves and was good on 73 percent of serve receive attempts. She finished second on the career kill list at Miller City with 476.
Modica, a senior, pounded 173 kills for the Big Green this season and had 88 solo blocks. She served up 18 aces and dished out 11 assists.
Kaufman, a junior, handed out 240 assists this season as she was 444-of-457 setting. She recorded 145 kills on 211 successful hits, had 23 solo blocks and served up 37 aces
Hovest, a junior, served at a 97 percent rate this season and had an attack percentage of 90 percent as she has the school record for good spikes in a year with 502 and put 165 blocks in play, 25 solo. She holds the school record for kills in a match with 29 and kills in a season with 281.
The second team consisted of the Bulldogs' Casey Osterhage and Paige Gerdeman, Kalida's Emily Turnwald and Trisha Horstman, Leipsic's Abby Klinebriel, Ottoville's Holly Heitmeyer and P-G's Brooke Maag.
Gerdeman handed out 762 assists this season for the Bulldogs as she averaged 29.2 assists a match, had 237 digs and served up 35 aces.
Osterhage, a senior, had 154 kills and a hitting percentage of 20.3 percent. She had 62 blocks this season.
Turnwald handed out 353 assists for Kalida this season with 111 kills and 44 aces. She put 166 blocks in play.
Horstman had a 96 percent serving percentage with 30 aces. She pounded 153 kills and had 118 blocks in play.
Klinebriel was one of the areas top setters this season as she was 2,197 of 2,200 setting with 692 assists as she averaged 9.23 assists a match.
She had 45 kills, served up 28 aces as she put 97 percent of her serves in play. She also had 82 blocks this season, 23 solo.
Heitmeyer, a senior, served up 17 aces as she had 136 good serves. She pounded 99 kills on 177 good hits, and had 26 solo blocks.
Maag, a senior, set a school record for good sets in a season with 1,418 and assists in season with 537 and in a match with 42. She was good on 96 percent of her assists attempts this season.
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First Team
Mackenzie Vorst, Columbus Grove; Julia Fuerst, Kalida; Chelsea Gerten, Leipsic; Dana Otto, Miller City; Samantha Modica, Ottoville; Natasha Kaufman, Ottoville; Kristyn Hovest, Pandora-Gilboa.
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