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Warriors extend conference win streak to 4
Entertaining match goes full five sets
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
NORTH ENGLISH — This one went the distance.
HLV-TC and English Valleys battled it out in a South Iowa Cedar League volleyball matchup Thursday, going the full five sets.
The Warriors took the fifth set 15-10 to extend their winning streak in conference play to four.
Leading 13-10, the Warriors ended the match with consecutive kills from Nicole Gensley and Caidyn Schmidt.
In both kills, Gensley and Schmidt worked around the defensive block set up from the Bears.
“Finding the open spots was key and knowing where I need to hit depending on where the block is,” Schmidt said.
After a convincing 25-11 first set win for HLV-TC, English Valleys flipped the script in the next two sets. The Bears took sets two and three to take a 2-1 lead.
Out of sorts in the first set, the Bears’ offensive attack was more efficient the rest of the way.
Both teams traded blows in the two sets, each going on short spurts.
In set two, Ava Gehrking led the way for English Valleys with five kills.
A surprise name for the Bears also stepped up. Pantera Spies, who entered Thursday with just one kill on the season, had four in set two and 11 in the match.
Spies, who had been previously playing as a libero, thrived in the outside hitter role.
Sets two and three were tied at 23-23 and 22-22, but the Bears closed each out to take the set wins.
HLV-TC needed to respond in set four to force the deciding fifth set.
The Warriors did that, finishing the set on a 11-2 run which included three aces and two blocks.
Tied at eight in the final set, the Warriors closed with a 7-2 run to take the match.
“We knew we could win,” Gensley said. “Knowing that our energy can stay up the whole five sets and knowing we can have the right mindset to do it, was good for us to learn.”
Being down 2-1 and going a five sets is not something the Warriors have faced yet this season.
“It was great to see the mental toughness,” head coach Kayla Chizek said on the team’s comeback.
“We haven’t been put in this position this season, and a lot of players haven’t had that experience. It’s great for them to get that and get the win.”
Both teams put up great offensive numbers.
English Valleys totaled 39 kills. Joslyn Bender led the way with 12; Gehrking and Spies each had 11.
HLV-TC had just two more, with 41. Gensley had a match-high 15 while Schmidt and Jordyn Menicucci each had seven. Erilea Kupka had 33 assists with those 41 kills.
Both teams were in double digits in aces.
HLV-TC moved to 4-1 in SICL play (9-10 overall) with the win, the halfway point of the conference slate.
With no conference tournament this season, the winner will be decided after everyone finishes a 10-game slate, so the Warriors are still in the mix.
“It’s a great place to be and where we want to stay,” Chizek said. “We know it’s only going to get more intense, so we need to make sure to pick up the pace a bit and play more consistent.”
English Valleys (6-10) still is searching for its first conference win but showed a lot of fight and will have five more chances in conference play to get a victory.
