(Atlantic) It appeared it might be a quick night for Harlan in a Hawkeye Ten Conference volleyball match at Atlantic on Thursday.
Samantha Ineson fired four aces out of six serves to put the visitors up 6-0 in the first set. The Cyclones built an early 16-4 sparked by Macy Mueller’s sets to Aubrey Schwieso. Despite the steep mountain to climb Atlantic put 11 points on the board to finish off the set by a respectable score of 25-15.
“I wish I could forget the first set,” said Atlantic Head Coach Michelle Blake. “We couldn’t get any rythum going. But once we stopped that big run, we outscored the rest of the set. But we can’t expect to dig out of a 14-hole. We let a team have that big of a run.”
The Trojans picked their play in the second set and made it more competitive before falling short 25-20.
“I thought the second set was ours,” said Coach Blake. “Now you are fighting for your life after being down two sets. The message was we can’t worry about getting to the fifth set; we have to worry about set three.”
The third set was back and forth, and Atlantic could pull away with a 25-23 victory before succumbing to the Cyclones in the fourth set 25-16.
“Our girls did a good job in that third set and got into a couple of unlucky runs in the fourth and final set,” Blake said.
Atlantic 6’0 front-line player Paytn Harter had 12 kills on the night, adding to her 124 before the contest. Abby Muller and Morgan Botos had five kills each. Claire Schroder had 14 assists, and Maddie Richter finished the night with 12 assists.
Mueller had a big night setting for the Cyclones and scored on several tips. Aubrey Schwieso had a big night hitting from the strong side, and Erica Rust and Ava Monson contributed with a handful of kills and blocks from the middle.
Atlantic and Harlan both play in the Tri-Center Tournament on Saturday.