Practice equals success

PACKWOOD - Practice does make a difference. The common saying heard is ‘practice makes perfect' but no one's perfect. However practice will definitely improve one's talents and can make a huge difference come match time. Columbus and Pekin both witnessed that fact Monday in a Class 2A regional postseason volleyball match.

Pekin missed practice time this year with a new coach and multiple matches due to COVID-19 issues. Columbus spent time during practice working on hitting diagonally into corners. Columbus took a 2-0 lead before Pekin rallied to tie it at 2-2. Michelle Diaz's aces, Olivia Carrier's jump serve and Jobe Lekwa's kill gave the Wildcats a 15-7 win in the match-deciding set and Columbus advances to play at Durant Wednesday.

'This feels great but it would've felt a lot better if we were talking after Game 3,” Columbus coach Lori Beenen said. 'Our girls get nervous and play cautious when things get tight. We have to learn to play through the ball instead of to the ball.”

Set 1 saw the Wildcats trail 4-0, then lead 15-6 on the way to a 25-16 win. The biggest lead came on a Diaz kill from the right into the left corner.

'We have been talking with Michelle about working those diagonals to hit corners,” Beenen said. 'She was able to find a rhythm and got around the block to find that empty spot. We spent a lot of time on that with her and it paid off.”

Set 2 saw a 10-4 Wildcat lead turn into a 16-11 deficit. An ace by Sara Vela and a block from Lekwa and Diaz tied the set at 17 and 19. A Diaz kill made it 20-19 and the Wildcats won 25-20.

'In practice, coach had me work on snapping that hit because I was not very good at it and we worked on it a lot,” Diaz said. 'Finally it came in to play and I'm so glad it did. Practice is a very good thing, very good.”

The third set was tied 15 times, the first at 2-2, the last at 23. Pekin coach Rusty Crabtree called time trailing 23-22 and the Panthers scored Emma Phillips ace and a Erika Coleman tip to win 25-23.

'I told them make a good pass and be aggressive,” Crabtree said. 'I want aggressive play so let's get it.”

Set 4 was tied five times through 8-8 and again at 17. Taylor Gambell's kill, Kaylee Peiffer's ace and Phillips tip made the score 23-17 and it was a 25-19 win.

Emma Milder was not going to let Columbus lose the deciding set, racing anywhere the ball went to keep it alive.

'She has some range and can get to most everything,” Beenen said.

'We really dug deep inside ourselves for the fifth set,” Diaz said. 'All of us seniors have been talking to our teammates that we did not want this to be our last game. This is the first postseason game we have won.”