March 28, 2024

Comeback kids

Down 2-0, Central Decatur came all the way back to shock Bedford

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AFTON – After getting beat in the first two sets by Bedford, it seemed as it Central Decatur was bound to be home early, booked for an early exit from the annual Pride of Iowa Conference volleyball tournament.

That is, until they weren’t.

The Cardinals dropped the opening two sets nine points at 25-14 and 14 points at 25-11. The Cardinals struggled mightily on the floor, lacking communication or the necessary intensity to make a team that has struggled stand out in the conference tournament. The tide turned for the Cards in the third set however, with CD getting its first taste of an opening against Bedford.

CD took advantage of a Bedford communication error to take advantage at 5-4, beginning what became an eight straight point streak off kills from Morgan Nordyke and aced from Maizee Lindsey.

Lindsey’s serve was broken at 12-4 and the margin was never made up by Bedford as Central Decatur, with new life, rode on for the 25-18 set win.

“(There was) just no teamwork,” said CD head coach Chelsey Green. “We weren’t communicating and we weren’t trusting each other to do their jobs and we were just trying to do the game ourselves. We finally got it figured out in the third set and played like a team and the outcome was in our favor.”

Showing signs of life, the Cardinals trailed early at 7-3, tying it up at 7-7 and at 10-10, but Bedford kept holding on by a one to two-point lead. The Cardinals caught the Bulldogs at 17-17 and pulled ahead on a Lindsey push to the back corner, taking the lead at 18-17.

The lead was followed up on by a Lindsey kill which rolled off the net and in, but the two-point advantage was wiped out on a short run by Bedford to go ahead 20-19.

The Cards then closed out the set at a 6-3 advantage, taking the set 25-23 off kills from Alaina Applegate. A long Applegate kill just inside the baseline resulted in the set-winning score for the Cardinals to clinch the fourth set, forcing the fifth.

After taking both sets to bring it to five, a Central Decatur team with new energy and a second wind was looking to close out a miraculous come back against a Bedford team which had beaten it earlier in the season.

“I think they realized they had a chance and the attitude (change) helped,” said Green. “It seems like once they get on a good attitude roll they keep it up. Sometimes it’s hard to dig them out of that hole.”

The fifth and final set opened Bedford’s favor with the Bulldogs taking an early advantage at 7-4.

CD rallied, playing best from behind, to pull the score to a one-point game at 9-8 and 12-11. A Bedford volley bounced the wrong way in favor the Central Decatur to tie it up at 12-12 and the same occurrence happened at 13-13.

Teams traded blows before Bedford took a 15-14 lead on a kill from Leslie Sheley, but it was the last point the Bulldogs got as kills a Lyndsey Dale save on a volley kept the ball up long enough to score a point to even the score.

The Cards got the advantage on a Shira Alley flip over which was misplayed by Bedford. Down one, the Bulldogs misplayed the game-ending score again as CD completed the three set comeback.

“I was just hoping we could stay under control and keep the ball in play and give ourselves a chance and get our serves in,” said Green on nearing the game-winning point.

Green believes the three winning sets were the best volleyball the Cardinals have played all season. It’s the second time CD has won a best-of-five series this season, its first being against Murray (3-1) on Sept. 30.

The win for the Cardinals made it four wins in its last six matches, with a win over Moravia (2-0) and two wins over Murray (3-1, 2-0).

Bounced by East Union

After playing five straight sets, a 17-minute break was all CD was given as prep for an East Union team which was not preparing for the their opponent to go five sets.

In fact, with the Bulldogs up 2-0, East Union head coach Gail Thatcher had started to prep for Bedford before the final set was played.

“We actually prepped for Bedford in the beginning because we thought they would be taking it,” said Thatcher. “But, CD really came back and took a hold of the game and took the momentum.”

The momentum was slowed against East Union as the Eagles opened up a sizable margin in the first set at 16-5 off kills from Alyssa Weinkoetz.

The 11-point deficit expanded to 15 as the set score ended at 25-10 on an ace from Mikala Sanson.

EU’s Weinkoetz and Sanson were relentless all night , combining for 79 attack attempts. Sanson netted just two kills while Weinkoetz tallied 26. Sanson was also effective from serve, going 16 of 17 with three aces.

EU’s leaned into the Cardinals, starting the second set with a 7-0 lead off Olivia Cheers’ serve. CD pulled it back to 7-5, capitalizing on failed EU attack attempts, and on Carlee Hamilton’s serve the Cardinals turned a 12-9 deficit into a 15-12 lead.

The Cards heed the lead through the end of the set, closing out the set on a 5-1 run for a 25-19 victory.

Working well for the Cardinals was a mixture of effort and talking on the floor, both of which were keys to success in its come from behind win earlier in the night.

“Communication and effort. They were hustling after everything and keeping the ball in play,” said Green on what was working well for CD in the second set.

The battle continued into the third set, again with CD lingering around the one to two-point deficit margin, but three points off Weinkoetz’s made it 19-16, a lead CD was unable to get back to in a 25-22 set loss.

East Union then stormed ahead in the fourth set to a 19-2 lead with 14 straight points coming off Cheers’ serve. Despite three straight points from the Cardinals, two being aces from Hamilton, the Cardinals couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole for a 25-7 set loss.

Despite playing nine sets, Green feels it wasn’t fatigue that got the best of the Cardinals as much as frustration.

“It was attitudes. It’s hard to dig out of that (hole),” said Green. “It seems like once one attitude goes then the momentum of the team goes, and it’s really hard to build that back up. That’s where we got stuck. It just happened to be in that final set where it mattered.”

Green was particularly impressed with River Hamacker’s play Monday night.

“River came out and blocked a ton,” said Green. “Her and Alaina were huge blockers (Monday), which helped us a lot in the Bedford game and helped us early on in the game against East Union. We just didn’t capitalize on that.”

Green said the team has been working on coverage with middle blockers getting more touches and coverage on blocks as it enters regional play, stating the importance of it due to what lays ahead in the regional bracket.

Central Decatur opens up regional play at Lamoni in Class 1A Region 3 play. The winner of Lamoni and CD will face the winner of Lenox and Diagonal. Game time for both matches is Tuesday (Oct. 10) at 7 p.m.