ALBANY - As the volleyball season has progressed, so has Albany.
The Comets used a shuffling of the rotation to dispense of Juda in a three-game sweep Tuesday, 25-15, 25-20, 25-16.
"We played basic, we communicated, we played team ball," Albany head coach Connie Wunschel said. "We had a bunch of people doing different things tonight."
Unfortunately for Juda, having a steady rotation is not in the cards just yet.
"At this point in the season I shouldn't be trying to figure out our lineup," Juda coach Pam Green said. "We need some kids to start getting consistent. We're not (consistent) right now, and that's really killing us. We should have played a lot better than we did. We came out flat."
Albany used solid defense and mesmerizing serving to keep Juda off-balance.
"We do a lot of serves, and a lot of serve receive (in practice). Serve receive has been really bad lately, so we've been getting equal time on both," Wunschel said.
Despite the stellar serving, the Comets had only six aces. But that doesn't mean the Panthers didn't have trouble returning serves.
"We need to work on serve receive, (and) confidence. Maybe a little bit more work in practice. Sometimes that energy and confidence doesn't always find its way into practice," Green said.
In the first game, Albany used its athleticism and communication to take an 18-14 lead before closing with a 7-1 run.
The second game was more evenly matched and back-and-forth. Juda led 2-0 before Albany blazed through six of the next seven points. Juda then went on its own 6-1 run before the Comets went on an 11-2 run to open up an 18-11 lead. At game point, with Albany leading 24-17, sophomore Sydney Bump's hard serve drilled fellow sophomore hitter Kaitlyn Schultz in the back of the head. The crowd silenced as Schultz waited for the stars to be cleared.
"When Kaitlyn got hit, I took her out for the next game. We had to make sure everyone knew their jobs. But Jordan (Mauerman) stepped in and did fine," Wunschel said.
The Panthers then delayed game point for three points, before a serve went out of bounds.
In the third game, Albany led 4-1, watched Juda mount its last comeback to close to within 10-8, then pulled away.
Sydney Bump had eight digs, nine kills, an ace and a block for Albany. Courtney Pfeuti had more than a dozen assists, Schultz had a pair of aces and a handful of kills, and Devan Brugger had seven kills, 10 digs, and two aces.
"Devan had a really good game tonight. That's four in a row now. She's just being really smart with her hits. Sydney had a couple of really nice hits, too. Everyone just did what they needed to do," Wunschel said.
For Juda, Sam Strothman had seven digs and Heather Boeke had 11 kills, seven digs, and seven blocks.
"Heather Boeke had a great night. I put her on the back row in the last game, and she did about as good as anyone. She did a good job of passing and getting digs back there. She's trying to carry this team, but one person can't do it. We need other people to step up also," Green said.
On Thursday, Albany (4-3 Six Rivers East) travels to take on Black Hawk (7-0), while Juda (0-6) will attempt to win at Argyle (1-5).
The Comets used a shuffling of the rotation to dispense of Juda in a three-game sweep Tuesday, 25-15, 25-20, 25-16.
"We played basic, we communicated, we played team ball," Albany head coach Connie Wunschel said. "We had a bunch of people doing different things tonight."
Unfortunately for Juda, having a steady rotation is not in the cards just yet.
"At this point in the season I shouldn't be trying to figure out our lineup," Juda coach Pam Green said. "We need some kids to start getting consistent. We're not (consistent) right now, and that's really killing us. We should have played a lot better than we did. We came out flat."
Albany used solid defense and mesmerizing serving to keep Juda off-balance.
"We do a lot of serves, and a lot of serve receive (in practice). Serve receive has been really bad lately, so we've been getting equal time on both," Wunschel said.
Despite the stellar serving, the Comets had only six aces. But that doesn't mean the Panthers didn't have trouble returning serves.
"We need to work on serve receive, (and) confidence. Maybe a little bit more work in practice. Sometimes that energy and confidence doesn't always find its way into practice," Green said.
In the first game, Albany used its athleticism and communication to take an 18-14 lead before closing with a 7-1 run.
The second game was more evenly matched and back-and-forth. Juda led 2-0 before Albany blazed through six of the next seven points. Juda then went on its own 6-1 run before the Comets went on an 11-2 run to open up an 18-11 lead. At game point, with Albany leading 24-17, sophomore Sydney Bump's hard serve drilled fellow sophomore hitter Kaitlyn Schultz in the back of the head. The crowd silenced as Schultz waited for the stars to be cleared.
"When Kaitlyn got hit, I took her out for the next game. We had to make sure everyone knew their jobs. But Jordan (Mauerman) stepped in and did fine," Wunschel said.
The Panthers then delayed game point for three points, before a serve went out of bounds.
In the third game, Albany led 4-1, watched Juda mount its last comeback to close to within 10-8, then pulled away.
Sydney Bump had eight digs, nine kills, an ace and a block for Albany. Courtney Pfeuti had more than a dozen assists, Schultz had a pair of aces and a handful of kills, and Devan Brugger had seven kills, 10 digs, and two aces.
"Devan had a really good game tonight. That's four in a row now. She's just being really smart with her hits. Sydney had a couple of really nice hits, too. Everyone just did what they needed to do," Wunschel said.
For Juda, Sam Strothman had seven digs and Heather Boeke had 11 kills, seven digs, and seven blocks.
"Heather Boeke had a great night. I put her on the back row in the last game, and she did about as good as anyone. She did a good job of passing and getting digs back there. She's trying to carry this team, but one person can't do it. We need other people to step up also," Green said.
On Thursday, Albany (4-3 Six Rivers East) travels to take on Black Hawk (7-0), while Juda (0-6) will attempt to win at Argyle (1-5).
