Spartans drop match in five sets to Tigers
Thursday’s volleyball match between the Exira-EHK Spartans and the Woodbine Tigers started off in a back-and-forth affair, but the Tigers ultimately came away with the victory winning sets four and five 25-12 and 15-9 to earn its fifth win of the season and hand the Spartans its fifth loss.
“I haven't had a chance to break down the film yet, but give Woodbine a lot of credit, they are a pretty good team whose record doesn't tell their story so far this year,” said Spartans Head Coach Derek Reischauer.
The Tigers took set one 26-24 with multiple assists from Senior Addison Murdock, but had to scratch and claw to come away with the victory.
“Basically, we just talked about how fun of a set it was, and to keep playing with energy,” Reischauer said. “We talked about a couple of strategy adjustments, but overall we thought we did some good things and to just keep it up.”
The Spartans came back to win sets two and three with Freshman Brooklyn Flathers and Riley Miller coming up with multiple assists, setting up Sophomore Jaelynn Petersen and Junior Mayne Jorgensen for shots at the net.
“We are thrilled with where our two setters are at this point in their careers,” Reischauer said of Flathers and Miller. “They are both still learning a lot about the game and how to play the position. Setter is a special position in that you not only have to play it physically well, but you have to have the mental and communication skills to play the position well. They both have a lot to learn yet, but we are extremely confident that we have two really good setters for the next four years. They have different strengths and weaknesses and they have both improved a great deal in the last month.”
When set four began, the Tigers dominated at the net with kills from Senior Katy Pryor and blocks from Junior Danyelle Steinkuehler that led to a 25-12 victory, tying up the match at two sets apiece.
Set five was back-and-forth to start, but was won by the Tigers, earning their second win in their previous three matches. For the Spartans, it was their first loss since a triangular Aug. 31 against Boyer Valley, losing two consecutive sets.
The Spartans next set of matches will be Saturday at 9 a.m. at the ACGC Invite where they will be one of eight teams competing.
“I think ACGC and Glidden-Ralston are supposed to be the favorites in that tournament, but hopefully we can make some noise as well,” Reischauer said. “Our girls will be fine after the Woodbine match. We are a pretty resilient group this year. I don't expect any lingering effects from the Woodbine match.”