Polk County volleyball coach Molly Hill likes scheduling tough early-season opponents that will test the Wolverines.
“I like to play a team that’s going to challenge us and provide good competition,” she said. “I’d pick that over anything, really.”
Polk County got a tough lesson Tuesday night. The Wolverines fell behind by 13 points in game one and never quite recovered, falling to West Henderson 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-23)
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Photos: Polk County hosts West Henderson
“I don’t know if it was nerves or what that kind of got us for a set, and then that was really hard to recover and pull back from,” Hill said. “We improved each set, which is a positive.”
Game 3 was the high point for Polk County (2-1). They led for the first time all night at 2-1. They took the lead again on an ace by Kenzie Alm to go up 12-11. Their third lead of the match came at 21-20, and they tied it at 22-22, but couldn’t hold off the Falcons (4-0) down the stretch.
“Obviously, the third wet was our best set,” Hill said. “We sided-out the quickest there. We played aggressive at the net. We serve-received the best there. But you know, you can’t wait until the third set to start playing.
“And so it’s a hard lesson that they’re going to have to learn, but I told them that every game’s a battle, and you’ve got to go out there and start from the beginning and not freak out when things don’t immediately go your way, because you’re still very much in the game. So it’s just a learning curve.”
One positive for the Wolverines was the play of junior Emily Nance and freshman Alm down the stretch. Nance hit a couple of big winners, including a cross-court kill to hold off match point, while Alm brought a ton of energy along with her play.
“It’s a huge positive,” she said. “Kenzie’s just a spitfire, she wants to win, and she gets us fired up. But they’re still getting to know each other. They’re still kind of figuring things out as far as lineups and changes that we’re making kind of between sets. And so a part of it is just that we’re still early. It’s all a part of the learning curve.”
Reeve Carrol and Beija Olivari led the Wolverines with nine kills each in the match. Carroll had 18 digs, while Olivari and Abby Lewis had 12 each and Claire Lowrance added 11. Lewis had 12 assists, with Alm adding 10.
West Henderson dominated play up front in the first two games behind the play of Giselle White, Tatiana Santos and Lanae Kurle. Kaitlyn Auten and Ella Collier were key in the game 3 win, with Auten recording kills on three of the game’s last four points.
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