Ark Valley News - Hornets lose league triangular

Hornets lose league triangular
By Randy Fisher
Last Updated: September 07, 2017

After Valley Center High School's volleyball team frittered away another opportunity in losing a league triangular Sept. 5 at Eisenhower, coach Holly Rutter kept the team in the locker room for several minutes. Her message?

“We talked about the good volleyball that we saw versus Eisenhower, but how we need to keep our leads and be able to finish," Rutter said. “They start getting defensive instead of offensive and just taking control of the match."

The Hornets couldn't hold a late third-set lead against the Tigers, losing 25-21, 20-25, 26-28. They never really got going against Goddard, losing 20-25, 14-25. The Hornets fell to 3-7 overall and 0-3 in Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League II.

Valley built a seemingly comfortable 12-3 lead in the first game against Eisenhower. But the Tigers clawed back to within two, 19-17.

A block by Reagan Fischer, and a stuff from Alora Klinkhammer gave the Hornets a little breathing room. Trailing 23-20, Eisenhower committed two errors that enabled Valley to escape with a 25-21 win.

Set two seemed to be the reverse of the first set, as Eisenhower broke out on top. The Hornets edged in front at 13-12. Tied at 19, four straight errors gave the Tigers a 23-19 lead, en route to a 25-20 victory.

The deciding set was close throughout. Deadlocked at 10, Valley ripped off six straight points to seemingly take control. Hannah Johnston and Klinkhammer each put down a block. Emily Kemp fired in a couple of aces, the first one snapping the tape on its way over the net. Ellie Shank put down two of her eight kills, and Valley was up 16-10.

Eisenhower trailed 19-17 when Valley eased into a 24-19 lead. That's when the meltdown began.

The Tigers' defense stiffened as they staved off six match points, the last coming after Kemp's ace gave Valley a one-point lead.

Offensively, Eisenhower went to its big gun, Ryleigh Jackson. The senior hitter scored five of Eisenhower's last nine points — including the last three — for a 28-26 win.

“We got timid against them in the end," Rutter said. “We should have been able to easily put one point away but got scared and let them take it from us. That killer instinct has got to start coming out to put these teams away."

After that, the Hornets seemed listless. Goddard had little problem with them, posting wins of 25-20 and 25-14. In the second set, the Hornets committed 13 errors of all types — hitting, serving, net violations, rotation violations, multiple hits.

“They definitely lost their energy. I think after the tough loss against Eisenhower, they lost some spunk," Rutter said. “We are a very young team needing to understand the game a little better and how energy, momentum and confidence can take you a long way."

One surprise was the play of sophomore Kait McDonald, who had five kills on the night.

“Positives I saw tonight were getting some good touches on the block and creating a defense for my back row," Rutter said. “Reagan did well for us tonight all the way around, and Kait stepped up in the middle for us. They are always willing to put forth so much effort to pursue bad balls and keep the play going."

JV splits again — The junior varsity split its second triangular and is 2-2 on the season.

In their first match, the Hornets eased by Eisenhower 25-21, 25-21. They hit .117 with five service errors. Chaeli Keenan and Kylee Dawson each had six kills. Tanza Holmes had all 15 of Valley's assists.

It was close, but no cigar against Goddard, as the Lions defeated Valley Center 25-20, 25-23. The Hornets hit just .017 with seven service errors. Dawson had five kills, while Amber Haden had fours. Holmes had seven of Valley's 10 assists.

C team — The Hornet C team is 1-5.

At the Aug. 26 Andover Central ninth-grade tournament, Valley Center lost to Clearwater 22-25, 14-25; Eisenhower 11-25, 14-25; and Andover Central 16-25, 14-25.

On Aug. 31, the Hornets were home for a quad. They lost to Ark City 14-25, 22-25, and to Eisenhower 15-25, 13-25. Sandwiched in between these losses was a 25-17, 25-27, 15-9 victory over Goddard.