Panthers knock off Demons at home

Things weren?t clicking right off the bat for the Mt. Pleasant volleyball team on Tuesday night.

The Panthers came into their Southeast Conference matchup at Washington losing 14 of their last 15 matches, and in the first set, couldn?t generate any offense.

The Demons took full advantage of the slow Panther start and claimed a 25-16 first-set victory. After the break, Mt. Pleasant looked like a brand new team, cruising to set wins of 25-13, 25-20 and 25-11 to take the conference match in four sets.

?They needed to be woken up,? Mt. Pleasant volleyball head coach Dave Streeter said. ?(Washington) took that first one because (we) didn?t come to play. They woke up in between and it was a 180-degree difference. Then we finished it out.?

The Panthers improved to 8-17 on the season with the victory (3-2 in conference play), while Washington fell to 5-18 (1-4 in conference play) on the year.

?You can always find something good in every game,? Washington head coach Julianna Berg said. ?What really hurt us was serve receive and tips. We talked about not getting burned on the same things, and we have to learn patterns and make adjustments.?

Washington jumped out to a quick lead in the first set, winning four straight points to take an early 4-1 lead. The Demons extended the lead to 12-4 after a pair of aces from junior Jessie Buchholz, as the Demons remained in control for much of the first set.

?Jessie played a great game (tonight),? Berg said. ?I also thought (senior) McKenna Brinning played a smart game as well. Both played very well tonight.?

The Demons took a 24-12 lead, but Mt. Pleasant didn?t go down without a fight, claiming four straight points, before the Demons closed out the first set.

In the second set, Mt. Pleasant flipped the script, as the Panthers jumped out to a 10-4 lead. Mt. Pleasant extended it to 20-9, before claiming the set with a 25-13 victory.

?Asiah Zaragoza playing middle for us (stood out),? Streeter said. ?I moved her to the outside a quarter of the way through the season and now we?ve moved her back and she?s found a home there.?

The Demons looked to rebound in the third set, after Mt. Pleasant took an early11-3 lead. Washington closed the gap to 19-13, before winning six of the next seven points to make it 20-19. Mt. Pleasant never relinquished the lead, however, and took five of the next six points to take the set.

In the fourth and final set, it was all Mt. Pleasant, as they jumped out to a 14-8 lead, before claiming the set and match on an 11-3 run.

?We need to harness the momentum,? Streeter said. ?We got a win under us, and it?s been a while for us. To get that and build on our rotation we found, it should be a good deal for us.?

For the Demons, the loss left them with questions about what they need to do to continue improving in the second half in the season.

?I don?t have the answers right now, and emotions are running very high right now,? Berg said. ?We have to rein everything in before we make any big decisions. Right now, our lineup is in limbo and I don?t know if changes might need to be made.?

Washington will face Mid-Prairie on the road on Thursday night, while Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield in another conference match on Tuesday.