New London volleyball team wins fourth game in a row

BY ANDY KRUTSINGER

Mt. Pleasant News

NEW LONDON ? The 13th-ranked New London volleyball team is really starting to hit its stride.

The Tigers made quick work of Cardinal on Thursday night, sweeping the Comets 25-15, 25-5 and 25-4 to pick up their fourth 3-0 win in a row.

Cardinal was able to stick around in the first set, staying with the Tigers throughout the game, but New London dominated in the next two sets behind good serving and big plays from their hitters.

After the Comets took a 1-0 lead on the first point, New London tied the game and Camryn Blint stepped up to serve.

Blint helped the Tigers stretch the lead to 7-1 to start the runaway early. New London used the big start to roll to a 25-5 win in the second set.

?We have Camryn on our first serve because of that reason,? said head coach Maureen Heath after the game. ?We need to get our good servers on serving runs. I think (Savannah) Sutherland had a serving run and Blint and (Breanna) Mettler served well.?

Mettler began the third set with a big spike to put the Tigers up 1-0, and it was once again off to the races early. New London kept the Comets off balance all game, allowing only four Cardinal points in a 25-4 victory to secure the sweep.

?We had to cut down from our errors in the first game,? Heath said after the win. ?Once we started doing that, we controlled the match much better.?

Mettler led the Tigers with six kills on 25 attempts in the win. Birdsell, Sutherland and Sophie Lounsbury each had three kills and Layney Loyd and Alexa Wenger each had one.

Carson McSorely led the team defensively, with 13 digs. Leading servers were Mettler (16-17, six aces) and Blint (14-14, three aces). Birdsell and Sutherland each had one ace on the day, and Birdsell finished with the team?s only block.

New London, which started the season out 2-3, came into the game after 3-0 wins against SEISC South Division rivals Van Buren, WACO and West Burlington, meaning the Tigers have won their last 12 sets in a row.

The Tigers will now turn their attention towards a tough stretch in the schedule. They will compete in a loaded Keokuk tournament on Saturday, Sept. 17, and another stacked field at the Holy Trinity tournament on Monday, Sept. 19.

?We have a couple of huge matches ahead of us,? Heath said. ?We have to cut down on our errors to be successful, and we have to find our offense, because you can?t play defense all the time. We?re going to play some very offensive teams.?