Frank’s crew hoping to peak at the right time

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

A 16-5 record, which includes an 11-2 mark in the Northern Buckeye Conference, is not a bad start for Sarah Frank in her first year as the volleyball coach at Eastwood.
Seeded third in the Division III Otsego District, the Eagles will face (5) Defiance Tinora or (8) Ottawa Hills in a sectional final on Wednesday.
Frank, who was an assistant to former coach Jeff Beck for two seasons, talked about the transition that comes with replacing a coach who had been at the helm for the last 13 seasons.
“The transition has definitely been challenging, but at the same time very smooth. I have a good group of girls that have great character, and I’ve had relationships with them (when I was an assistant). The parents have been very supportive and very helpful,” said Frank, who credits her assistant coach Hannah Hodulik and JV coach Brianna Allegier for their efforts in helping her oversee the program. “The first year is never easy, but for the most part, it has been a really smooth transition. Coach Beck taught me a lot of things that help me now.”
Frank says that the biggest wins of the season were over Ottawa-Glandorf (3-1) and Defiance Tinora (3-2).
“Probably the most impressive win is Ottawa-Glandorf, which we beat in four sets when they were ranked No. 8 in the state,” she said. “That was a big one for us. We also beat Defiance Tinora, which is a very good team, so we were excited about that.”
The Eagles have won nine matches by sweeping the opposition. Overall, Eastwood has won 55 sets and lost just 24, including six in the conference.
In the win over the Rams, Nadia Miller had 15 kills and Addison Hartman finished with 12 while Joelle Jared had 30 digs and Kyrie Henline recorded 20, plus Hailey Hodulik (21) and Paige Hoodlebrink (19) recorded a total of 40 assists.
In the victory over the Titans, Miller (17) and Hartman (10) combined for 27 kills, Jared had 17 digs and Hodulik recorded 11 digs while Saylor King had nine and Hoodlebrink had 19 assists and Hodulik finished with 14.
Miller leads the team with 214 kills, followed by Hartman (183) and Lilly Mullholand (165). Hodulik has 347 assists and Hoodlebrink has recorded 301 assists while Jared has 330 digs with Hodulik (192) and King (178) behind her.
“The lineup changes a lot, based on where we want our hitters and setters to be,” said Frank.
The rest of the rotation includes Jordan Appelhans, Morgan McMillin, Kayla Gedert, Jersey Schumaker, Claire Edelbrock and Ivy Schrader.
Hodulik and Applehans are the captains.
The Eagles’ five losses have all come against very good competition — Lake (twice), Sherwood Fairview (3-2), which happens to be the top seed in the Otsego District, Defiance (3-2) and Bowling Green (3-1).
“We had some injuries earlier in the season, and we just recently played Fairview, which we took to five sets and they beat us in the last set,” said Frank.
“I feel great about where the team is right now. They’re very excited to finish up league play and we’re very excited about the way our sectional and district bracket looks,” she said. “We’re ready for the postseason. I think they’re excited to hopefully go on a tournament run.”