Demons sweep Grayhounds in SEC opener

BURLINGTON — By the end of the 2021 season, Washington was playing some of its best volleyball.

Here in the early 2022 season, the Demons are looking pretty good.

On Tuesday night, Washington proved that they are not to be taken lightly after sweeping Southeast Conference (SEC) opponent Burlington in three sets, 26-24, 25-14 and 25-21.

The win is the first SEC head-to-head victory of the season for the Demons.

There was plenty of drama in the evening clash.

Washington was slow out of the gate in the first set, as mistakes quickly turned into a 18-9 deficit. Despite the large Burlington lead, Washington did not wavier.

After the Grayhounds made it 18-11, the Demons offense attack blistered six straight points to cut the Burlington lead to 20-17.

“Coach just told us to keep the energy up and to not give up,” Washington sophomore Ella Greiner said. “Even if we’re down we can get back up, come back and win.”

Three plays later and the Demons made it 20 all. Burlington quickly answered back with three straight points to Washington’s one and added another to put the pressure on the Demons with a 24-21 match point advantage.

The Demons had the answers.

Washington rattled off yet another run, this one proving to be the knockout blow. With five straight points the Demons went from the brink of a first set loss to a huge comeback first set victory, edging the Grayhounds for the 26-24.

“We just had to have the mentality that we could do it,” Greiner said. “A lot of times we get down on ourselves and we give up. But we had a talk before the game about positivity and I think it really helped our energy tonight.”

The first set win for the Demons was huge as any Grayhound momentum had been evaporated and it showed in the following set.

In the second set, Washington jumped out to an early lead and never gave it up. The Demons built up a lead as big as 11 and ended with a dominant 25-14 victory.

Washington had a scary moment in the second set, as setter Remy Messinger twisted her knee and was helped off the floor. She did not return.

“Hopefully she can go in and get some good news,” Washington head coach Aaron Six said. “Hopefully she will be able to bounce back from that.”

With a 2-0 match lead, Washington needed a win to take the series and they did not disappoint.

The third and final set of the night was back to first set antics.

Over the course of the third, the two teams were separated by three points or less up until the middle of the set.

Burlington held a 13-11 advantage, but Washington turned it on once again building the largest lead of the match, 18-14. Burlington would cut it to two late, 23-21, but Washington never gave it up, to complete the sweep, 25-21.

“I’m really impressed as far as how much their coming together,” Six said. “We’re starting to gel on things. It’s going to be a little different with Remy being out, but we were still able to make some rotations and they did a nice job with that.”

For Washington, freshman Leighton Messinger continues to perform well. Messinger led the Demons with 12 kills on the night. Greiner finished with eight and senior Alex Murphy tallied six.

Leading the Demons in assists was junior Remy Messinger with 12. Senior Haley Mitchell finished with 10 assists as well and sophomore Lauren Hinrichsen had six.

Leading in digs was Leighton Messinger with 14. Sophomore Isabella Salazar followed with 12 and fellow sophomore’s Ruby Witthoft and Greiner each had nine.

Washington, now 3-4, will take on Mediapolis on Thursday at home.