NM Outlasts Trojans
NEW SHARON – Tri-County coach Sydney Davis knew her team would have to win some long volleys in order to defeat South Iowa Cedar League foe North Mahaska. Davis’s Trojans rallied in every game but could not muster the victory falling 25-20, 25-20, 25-22.
All three games were highlighted with scoring runs and long volleys. North Mahaska ended up with the edge 7-2 in that category. North Mahaska (4-5) built a 23-15 lead in the first set when junior Sadie McKain stepped up to the service line and helped the Trojans back to 24-18. TC added a pair of points before NM scored on a sideout.
North Mahaska again jumped out in front in the second set and the Trojans answered taking one of their few leads in the three-set match. The two teams traded points until the Warhawks won two straight long volleys with Morgan Hudson hitting a pair of service aces for a 22-16 lead. McKain hit an ace of her own to cut the lead to 24-20.
“We had 115 attempts and 13 kills,” said Davis. “Our girls need to have the confidence to finish the play. We knew this team tipped a lot and knew had to be ready. Grace Randall does a nice job distributing the ball, we just have to finish the play.”
North Mahaska coach Erica Groom agreed the long volleys were a key.
“We were able to win a lot of those and I really liked our blocking,” said Groom. “We have to work on hitting off the net. We talk about the mental toughness during every timeout.”
Tri-County (1-7) served 60-for-65 with two aces. North Mahaska was 67-of-73 with seven aces.
In the final set North Mahaska built a lead only to see the Trojans chip away. NM led 19-11, when Macy Schmidt served the Trojans back to trail by three 20-17. The teams traded points before another long volley sealed the win.
Peyton Icenbice, Schmidt and Randall led the Trojans with three kills apiece. Randall had eight assists while Chloe Zittergruen and Schmidt had 11 digs each. Little was credited with 19 digs.
Layla Hargis led the Warhawks offense with 10 kills. She also went 20-for-20 at the line with two aces. Lexi Van Utrecht scored eight kills. Kaitlyn Van Donselaar had 14 assists and Hudson added 11. Zoe Deucore recorded 18 digs and Carlie Scholtus had 13.
