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Demons bulldoze Bloodhounds
Washington kick-starts SEC schedule with home win
Andy Krutsinger
Aug. 30, 2023 12:29 pm
WASHINGTON — In 2022, the Washington volleyball team was a glutton for long matches. Four of the Demons’ five conference games went past the third set.
The 2023 squad made sure that was no worry on Tuesday night. The Demons welcomed in a Fort Madison team that had beaten them last season, but it was all Washington this time around, as the Demons secured a three-set win (25-19, 26-24, 25-12).
Washington led for most of the first set, but the Demons had to fend off Fort Madison late. The Bloodhounds had cut the lead down to 17-16 before a Leighton Messinger kill sparked an 8-3 run to finish off the first set.
Fort Madison got off to a hot start in the second set, forcing the Demons to come back from a 17-14 deficit.
Washington stormed back to take the lead 18-17, and the match was tied multiple times in the final points, including at 24-24. Taylor Miksch gave the Demons a 25-24 with a kill, and Leighton Messinger closed the game out with a kill of her own.
“I was really impressed with our second set, just our overall mental toughness there,” said Washington head coach Aaron Six. “They had the lead and we had to battle back. It showed everybody what we're capable of doing.”
Washington cruised in Set 3. The Demons jumped out to an early lead and Fort Madison could never recover. Ella Greiner collected four aces, all in a row, during the third-set drubbing, and the Demons wrapped up an SEC win.
“It shows that we’ve grown a lot,” Greiner said. “This year is definitely a big step up from last year.”
It was a huge night for Messinger, who finished the contest with 14 kills and two service aces to lead the Demons.
“I was definitely a lot more comfortable,” Messinger said. “Playing with everyone for a year is super nice, and we've all worked so hard in practice. That really helped us today.”
Greiner finished the match with seven kills and four aces. Miksch and Maci Williams each had four kills. Lauren Hinrichsen and Remy Messinger dished out 13 and 12 assists respectively. Msesinger and Greiner paced the team with 12 digs apiece.
The Demons ended the night with 10 service aces. Ruby Witthoft had a pair of those, and both Miksch and Bella Salazar had one.
Washington is now 3-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Demons will head to Mediapolis for a non-conference game on Thursday.