No. 8 West Liberty sweeps past Mid-Prairie

WELLMAN — It may have been the same result but it did not have the same effect.

Macy Daufeldt recorded totals of 29 kills, two blocks, 12 digs and one impressed opponent coach Thursday in Class 3A’s No. 8 ranked West Liberty’s 3-0 River Valley Conference win at Mid-Prairie.

“That girl ran down everything on the court,” Mid-Prairie head coach Sherry Evans said. “She’s a great player, who will play at Drake. She can jump, she can hit, she can serve, she can do it all. We tried to key on her. We did the best we could, but the outcome didn’t go our way.”

Mid-Prairie has had 19 straight matches of being swept by the Comets and Thursday’s 25-11, 25-13, 25-16 score was the 20th, which is 54 straight sets. Maybe there is a mental block where the West Liberty tradition already has got into the minds of the Golden Hawks.

“I think our minds were really good,” Evans said. “I think we came in confident. Until we seen what she did.”

With five freshmen, a sophomore, three juniors and four seniors, Evans said that there is enough new players on the team that the past isn’t relevant. “Half of our players have never seen her, never played against her. They were happy to try to rise to the challenge. They did the best they could. It just didn’t go our way and that’s OK.”

Evans said she was pleased with the fight her team showed. Mid-Praire had good starts, getting the first point of every set. That’s always a good momentum starter for a volleyball team. The problem was that Mid-Prairie just could not keep up with the pace West Liberty played at.

"That gives us good stuff to work on,“ Evans said. “Overall I was very pleased with our girls.”

“I like our team aspect. I like the way we respond in crunch time, on the court or off the court. Coming together as a team, supporting each other, I couldn’t be more proud of them for that,” Evans said about a “really good moment” in the locker room

Some things are more important than sports.

“It makes me feel good as a coach to see that growth, to see these young ladies becoming good adults, with good character becoming better people.

Some things are more important than sports.

“In my opinion, that’s what high school sports should be about, not necessarily the win category,” Evans said. “As long as we are supporting each other and preparing and shaping kids into responsible adults. It’s about preparing them to become good young ladies and responsible adults.”

The Golden Hawks play next at Wilton Tuesday. Mid-Prairie is 5-4 but 0-2 in the RVC while West Liberty is 12-0, 2-0.