(Atlantic) Atlantic edged Harlan 17-15 in the rally set to win three sets to two in Hawkeye Ten Conference volleyball on Thursday night at Atlantic.
The Trojans and the Cyclones exchanged set victories until the rally set giving the Trojans the win. Atlantic won the first set 25-23, Harlan bounced back and took set two 25-14, the Trojans responded with a 25-22 win in the third set, the Cyclones answered 25-19 in set four, and Atlantic bounced back to win the fifth set and the match.
“I told the girls heading into the fifth set, this is a battle, and if we’re going down, we’re going down being aggressive, and play to win every point,” said Atlantic Head Coach Michelle Blake. “We played together as a team. That was the difference-maker. I couldn’t be more proud of their effort.”
The Trojans trailing 4-3 in the rally set ripped off seven straight points to lead 10-4. But the Cyclones bounced back with three straight and narrowed the gap to 10-7. The home team got another push to lead 14-10, and the Cyclones roared back with four straight to tie the match at 14-14 and tied the set again 15-15 before Atlantic scored two straight to win 17-15.
“Harlan is a solid team, and they made us better,” said Blake. “They exposed things we needed to work on, and at the same time, it showed us what we’re capable of doing. It took us a little bit towards the end of the fourth set, we targeted some holes, and we pushed the ball deep.”
Atlantic moves their record to 11-7 overall and 2-1 in the Hawkeye Ten Conference. Harlan falls to 10-8 and 2-2 in the Conference.
Click below to view the match between Atlantic and Harlan.
