What already has been a season of change for Polk County’s volleyball program took another unexpected turn last week.
An injury to junior hitter Beija Olivari in Thursday’s loss at Owen led head coach Molly Hill to hold practice on Friday, using that session to make more lineup tweaks, trying different combinations while looking for the best version to help stop a two-game losing streak.
The new formations made their debut Tuesday and proved a success as Polk County returned to the winner’s column with a Western Highlands Conference home sweep of Mitchell, downing the Mountaineers 25-17, 25-12, 25-20.
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Olivari cheered from the bench in a boot and with crutches, her leg injury expected to sideline her most of the season. Sophomore Reeve Carroll moved from her libero spot to outside hitter and had 15 kills to pace the Wolverine attack in the victory.
“We ran through some different plays and tried to make everyone feel comfortable with different people on the floor and different options that we have,” Hill said of Friday’s workout.
“We put that into play today, and we talked about that in the first set, because we struggled a bit. It was point for point, and I told them this is why we practiced, so that you all could get familiar with this. Different people, different opportunities. They just had to get comfortable with that.”
As the Wolverines (4-3, 1-1) settled, they found a measure of comfort and took control of the match, especially in the second set. Carroll and Akeela Cunningham (nine kills) began to sync with setters Charley Dusenbury (18 assists) and Abby Lewis (15 assists), helping Polk race to a fairly easy win in the second stanza.
The third set proved much tougher as the Mountaineers (2-5, 0-2) kept within striking distance throughout. But Polk built a late lead and made it stick to complete the sweep.
Cunningham had 18 digs for Polk, with Lewis adding eight and Carroll recording seven. Aslyn Scruggs shuffled into the libero role and added five digs, with seniors Junie Mitchell and Riyah Schroyer each adding four.
Polk County continues conference play on Thursday, hosting Mountain Heritage.
