Eagles Rally to Defeat BBC
Volleyball is known as a team sport and more importantly a game of momentum. The Eagles demonstrated both of these aspects in a rematch game with Baptist Bible College this past weekend. Faith was beaten soundly in sets one and two with the Patriots clearly having momentum and the Eagles struggling as a team. In early September the Patriot's captured a 3-2 fifth set win over Faith. On this past Friday evening the Eagles turned the table in a thrilling 3-2 fifth set win.
BBC jumped out in set one with a 25-16 win and a resounding 25-8 set two victory. "As a team we had not realized such a strong defeat as set two since our game at North Central earlier this season. As coaches we let our team know that fact in an effort to help them understand the accountability factor. We were not demonstrating any facet of team play,' noted coach Lanny Nihart.
In the remaining sets the Eagles began to find their defensive stance and recorded 28 of their 38 kills including a .238 season high hitting %. The Eagles took set three by the score of 25-21 starting a swing in momentum. In set 4 Faith jumped out to quick leads only to watch the Patriots mount a comeback at 24-24. BBC gained the lead at 25-24 when freshmen Taylor Pals landed a kill to tie the score at 25-25. Both teams received side-outs and then the Eagles landed the victory with consecutive turnovers by the Patriots. "We were working very hard at the end of set 4. We had more consistency on the offensive side and defensively we were able to withstand a strong Patriot attack," noted Nihart.
Entering the final set with the momentum, Faith jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead behind the serving of sophomore Samantha Betz. The Eagles continued to attack at a high percentage taking leads of 8-3 at the mid point and 11-6. The Patriots not to be outdone crept within 12-9, however the Eagles put the game away with strong defense and timely kills.
Sophomore Charity Appell had a season high 11 kills and .233%, adding 11 digs. Senior captain Allysa Larson added 9 kills on her senior night. "This was a great win and I am thankful to my teammates for staying the course! It made special on senior night but more importantly continued to show the kind of team we can be." Setter Emily Morton contributed 31 assists while freshmen Libero Cara Hodak had 31 digs. The win pushed the Eagles overall record to 7-7 reaching the .500% mark for the first time this season.