The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Ignozzi leads Alter's victory

5-foot-9 senior libero tallies 16 digs and provides enthusiasm.

Bernard a star on golf course, in classroom
7/28/10
Dunbar grad Cook driven to expand game with Thunder
7/28/10
Wayne junior a favorite to win Metro golf tourney
7/28/10
Bellbrook’s Scohy makes U.S. Amateur
7/26/10
Miami Valley Tennis Coaches’ Association All-Area tennis
7/22/10
> More high school headlines

E-mail this page

By Debbie Juniewicz, Contributing Writer 12:50 AM Tuesday, September 1, 2009

KETTERING – It’s a thankless job but Kristin Ignozzi doesn’t want thanks – she wants wins.

The 5-foot-9 Alter libero scrambled, tumbled and tallied 16 digs to help the Knights volleyball team post a 25-21, 25-20, 19-25, 25-17 win over Tippecanoe Monday, Aug. 31 at Alter High School. It was the Knights second win in as many matches this season.

“We were up and down tonight and had some lackluster performances but Kristin played well for us,” Alter coach Tina Jasinowski said. “She brings great leadership to the court. She works her butt off and her teammates respect that.”

That respect has translated into Ignozzi getting the nod as team captain for the second time in as many weeks. The Knights volleyball team elects two captains every week.

“I lead by example because if I’m not doing my part, I can’t expect anyone else to,” Ignozzi said. “And I do silly things to help keep everyone up.”

Ignozzi, one of only two seniors on the young Alter team, can frequently be seen jumping up and down or making silly faces on the court to help lighten the mood. That was true Monday against rival Tippecanoe. The Knights knew the Red Devils would come ready to play as Alter bumped the previously undefeated Tipp team out of the Division II regional volleyball tournament last season.

The Red Devils took an early 7-4 lead in the opening set but the Knights rallied with a 7-1 run, forcing Tippecanoe head coach Pat Carus to burn an early timeout trailing 11-8. Tippecanoe battled back and knotted the contest, 16-16, on an ace by junior Amanda Calhoun but couldn’t edge past Alter.

Alter senior Kellie Joseph came up big in the second set, tallying five of the Knights final eight points to give the home team a two-set lead but the visiting Red Devils were not deterred.

Tippecanoe sped to a 5-1 lead in the third set and never trailed. The Knights evened the score at 12-12 but could never wrestle the lead away from the visitors who cut the lead to 2-1.

“That has been the hallmark of this team, they don’t quit,” Carus said. “We knew coming in here, we were going to get a battle and that’s what happened.”

The Red Devils carried the momentum into the fourth set, but the Knights offense managed to translate a 13-16 deficit into a 21-16 lead. Tippecanoe couldn’t recover.

“If you can have a good loss, this is a good loss for us,” Carus said. “To this point, we had 44 straight regular-season wins, so this loss takes the pressure off and now we can just go back to doing what we do.”

Share this article