Falcons rallied from 2-0 deficit
By Chris Faulkner
West Burlington's ninth-ranked (Class 2A) volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit at No. 5 (1A) Holy Trinity Catholic and sent the match into a fifth set.
But the host Crusaders defeated the Falcons 15-11 in the deciding set to win the two-hour, 10-minute match at Shottenkirk Gymnasium in Fort Madison.
West Burlington (14-2) plays Saturday in the Williamsburg Tournament. Holy Trinity improves to 3-2.
HTC won the first set 25-17 and had West Burlington down 20-11 and 22-15 in the second set. But the Falcons stormed back with five service points from Jayonna Hiley – including two from aces – to make it 22-20. West Burlington was serving match point, but Holy Trinity managed to stay alive and finally won 27-25.
West Burlington won the next two sets, 26-24, 25-17, getting big help from Brenna Beggs, who had 11 kills and a couple of big blocks in those two sets.
In the fifth set, through the first five rotations, West Burlington led 6-4. But HTC soon led 10-8 and pulled out the victory.
There were a number of long rallies in the two-hour night. West Burlington finished with 139 digs and Holy Trinity 124.
Falcons can grow from this
“I'm very, very pleased with the way they battled,” West Burlington coach Maureen Heath said of the Falcons. “That was a very good match. It didn't go our way, but that's going to make our team grow and grow.
“Everybody got their money's worth, that's for sure.”
Coach Heath praised Beggs for her contribution on the night. Beside Beggs' team-high 17 kills and six blocks, she also served 20 of 20 with two aces and added 15 digs.
Beggs' strength as a middle hitter is her swift windmill motion on her attacks that are hard for opposing defenses to dig up.
Did someone teach her to do it that way?
“No, I taught myself,” Beggs said. “It's just something I caught on.”
Taryn Snodgrass plays a big part in that as her setter. “We've been playing togther since like the sixth grade,” Beggs said. “We have a good connection.”
Snodgrass had 40 assists.
Coach Heath praised Snodgrass for her abilities.
“Snodgrass is like a workhorse out there,” Heath said. “You know you're going to get every maximum effort from that girl. She tries to move the ball around, running things down, but with control.”
Jayonna Hiley had 12 kills and served 14 of 14 with five aces, Mady Hamelton had 10 kills, Isabella Callison five and freshman Kaylee Webb four.
Webb came into the game as a middle hitter, “trying to mix things up,” Coach Heath said. “In this big of a game, she was very in tune, she was asking questions, the girls were helping her, I thought she did a great job.”
Hiley had a block and Webb and Snodgrass had one each.
Carli Cline led in digs with 42, Hiley had 31, Hamelton 20 and Snodgrass 15. Baylee Woodsmall added 12.
Cline served 21 of 22 with an ace, Hamelton was 16 of 16 with an ace, Snodgrass 11 of 12 with an ace and Woodsmall 12 of 12.
The Falcons served 94 of 96 on the night.
HTC shines in Set 5
Holy Trinity is tough to beat at home, especially in the fifth set, but Crusaders coach Melissa Freesmeier didn't take anything for granted.
“When you play a team like West Burlington, and they're going to dig the ball, and they're going to keep the ball in play, they're not going to make a lot of mistakes, we're just going to have to go at them. Our hitters did that in set 5.”
HTC's 6-2 standout in the middle, Presley Myers, had a career high 23 kills and six blocks. Adalyn Kruse had 21 kills and Olivia Bendlage 13. Anna Bendlage made 38 assists. Teagan Snaadt had 33 digs and Elizabeth Griffin 32.