Milford at Turpin ECC Battle Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The battles between the top six, seven teams in the East Cincinnati Conference simply comes down to the team that withstands challenges and executes all over the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Turpin Spartans find themselves still alive for the ECC crown coming into Tuesday's home game against Milford just one game back of Kings and Loveland at 9-2 in ECC and 9-4 overall. Turpin kept the pressure on both by taking care of business against Milford in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21) victory. The Eagles (7-6, 6-6) are hoping to build momentum in the second half of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams have nice size and stout defenses. This game came down to the team that controlled the net better and minimized mistakes. Both have sound senior liberos in [player_tooltip player_id='403524' first='Mallory' last='Thorn'] for Turpin and [player_tooltip player_id='195210' first='Rachel' last='Morgan'] for Milford. Milford entered the game with a 1.81 team passing average on a three-point scale. Morgan and senior defensive specialist lead the way there with 1.99 and 1.92 averages.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams took their big swings. Milford sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='809737' first='Lauren' last='Williams'] had a lot of luck running the quicks and Grace Hamm had some nice shots from the pins and middle. Even freshmen Piper McCormick and [player_tooltip player_id='774812' first='Lydia' last='Berube'] had some big hits. However, Turpin won more of those net battles with the dynamic senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='828235' first='Grace' last='Herzog'] and [player_tooltip player_id='227798' first='Maddie' last='Steele']. Freshman outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='774796' first='Alana' last='Michaelis'] also had some nice swings, but also made a difference with her serving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams return to action Thursday. Turpin travels to Anderson and Milford hosts Winton Woods.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performances</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["844730"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d374442300e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Duermit (pictured) gives the Spartans a solid threat on the right side with unique angles with her left-handed swings. Duermit's crosses found holes when executed well. She takes a great four-step approach to the net and puts great power into balls. Duermit helps give invaluable balance to Turpin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["403521"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":888804,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d3760c688c2"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Herzog made a number of big plays at the net. She forms good double blocks with teammates and consistently gets touches on balls. Herzog generally makes a lot of big kills with ones in the middle. But in this game, Herzog executed the slide plays really well to throw off the talented Milford back court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["774796"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":888809,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d3760c68975"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Michaelis played at a high-tempo club team and it has carried over well to the varsity team for Turpin. Michaelis took a good amount of big cuts from the outside. However, she also made a huge difference with her serving. She fooled the experienced Milford back court a couple times landing balls near the lines for huge aces. Michaelis can hit balls off blocks and take various cuts to make opponents defend various parts of the court as opposed to being able to focus on one specific area.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":888815,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Piper McCormick","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2029","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Milford","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Cincy East","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d379801a092"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">McCormick has a bright future in front of her. She has a quick arm swing and places balls well to various parts of the court. McCormick had some big kills and blocks later in the game. McCormick is not afraid to use her off (left) hand to put balls down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Note from the Writer</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for one year and a half and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in both Kentucky and Ohio. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky rankings, please email Mike at pnmikeg@yahoo.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. 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