Setting standards

By Mike Kilroy Eagle Staff Writer

October 31, 2011 Last Updated: October 31, 2011 02:37 PM High School

Marie Takach (left) broke school records for aces, while Megan Little (above) also set two school marks.

SLIPPERY ROCK — Marie Takach tosses the ball in the air and swings her arm forward.

The serve flies over the net and finds the court.

It's another ace for Takach, who's become a queen at producing them for the Slippery Rock High volleyball team.

Takach has such a knack for producing unreturnable serves that she now hold two school records: single-season aces at 94 and career aces at 285.

“I don't know how I do it,” Takach said, at a loss to explain why her serves are so hard to deal with. “It's just a regular serve.”

There's no jumping and no unusual english on the ball. Takach just finds a way to get it onto the floor.

It's been a skill of her's since she started playing volleyball in her youth. As a sophomore, serving is pretty much all she did, coming into the game as a specialist.

Now a senior, she is one of the reasons why the Rockets turned in a 14-0 regular season and are heading into the District 10 Class AA playoffs Thursday.

The Rockets were expected to be good this season, but few expected them to run the gambit of a tough Region 3 unbeaten.

“I don't think I could have asked for a better senior season ... so far,” Takach said.

So far is the key. As the season has progressed, so have the team goals.Takach said should the Rockets get knocked out in the playoffs, that 14-0 regular season record won't matter.“I think we can go pretty far as long as everyone plays all out,” Takach said. “That's what we started to do and we went 14-0.”Takach isn't the only record-breaker on the Rockets this season.Teammate Megan Little set two team marks of her own this season.The junior libero broke the single-season pass record with more than 400 and also set the record for digs in a single season with 187.“I'm proud of both of them,” Little said. “The passes, though, is pretty special because it means I'm doing my job.”This is Little's first season as Slippery Rock's libero.Last year, Caitlin Jones filled that role.“I had some pretty big shoes to fill,” Little said. “She definitely helped me a lot last year.”