JUDA - Black Hawk may be dominating the Six Rivers East Conference, but they still have a lot of work to do after beating Juda 25-12, 25-20, 25-19 in a league volleyball match Tuesday.
"I think we came in a little flat tonight," Black Hawk head coach Rachel Wolff said. "We got the job done, but as far as passing the ball, setting the ball, hitting the ball to the corners or wherever, we struggled.
"We just needed to get refocused a little bit, and I think we did that overall, but still came out a little flat."
The Warriors started off hot against a rebuilding Panthers squad, dominating the first game from the opening serve. In the second game, Black Hawk cruised to an 11-2 lead before the Panthers came roaring back. Juda took 10 of the next 13 points to trail just 14-12.
Black Hawk regained control and went on an 8-3 run of its own to put the score at 22-15, but Juda came back to 23-20. Kim Wellnitz blocked the Panthers from trying to regain any momentum at game-point just two serves later.
In the third game, Juda looked like a team on the rise that could potentially take a game from one of the area's best squads.
Black Hawk trailed in the third game 4-3 before taking a 7-4 lead. Juda countered with a four-point swing to regain the lead, 8-7. Black Hawk then took the next three. The Panthers hopped back on the mini-coaster with a second four-point run to put the score at 12-10 in the home town's favor.
The Warriors' front line had enough. Sam Noble and Wellnitz each contributed a block and a kill on an 8-1 run that put the score at 18-13 and nearly put the game out of reach.
Juda could only come back to within four at 23-19 before failing to return a volley and allowing an ace to end the match.
"I feel like we played better than the last time we played against them," Panther head coach Pam Green said. "Overall, I thought it was a back-and-forth game, but kind of flat on both ends. There wasn't a lot of hard-fought points."
Juda's Heather Boeke, the team's best all-around player, could only muster five kills and five blocks on the day.
"We really didn't get a chance to use Boeke a lot. There weren't a lot of volleys. It was point-serve-point, just back and forth," Green said.
Juda's Sam Strothman scored 14 slashes in the digs column for the Panthers, who struggled again but may have boosted their own confidence.
"I think we're believing that the teams we're playing we are competing against. Hopefully we can get over that edge," Green said.
Bringing into that confidence was freshman C.J. Dunwiddie, who has played more recently and saw plenty of action on the court against the best team in the region.
"I think C.J. Dunwiddie did a nice job as a freshman coming in. I know she has potential, it's just a matter of getting her out on the floor," Green said.
Black Hawk, despite playing flat, managed to hit 74 of 81 serves into play. Kim Wellnitz led all servers with four aces and added nine kills. Gabi Lehner had three aces and 14 assists. Alyssa Piefer had eight assists and a pair of aces. Paige Butler did the most damage at the net all night, slamming down 14 kills.
"Gabi Lehner did a nice job serving tonight and Rachel Rygh (four kills) did a nice job coming in off the bench - hitting where she needed to hit and being ready to hit. I would say she was a contribution tonight from the bench," Wolff said.
Overall though, with just one last tune-up before playoffs, Wolff was a little surprised by her squad's lackluster showing.
"I thought that we were peaking at the right time, but we came out a little flat and you can't do that in the playoffs," Wolff said.
Black Hawk (11-0) travels to Argyle (1-10) on Thursday trying to end its regular season with a perfect conference record, while Juda (1-10) hosts Monticello (5-6).
"I think we came in a little flat tonight," Black Hawk head coach Rachel Wolff said. "We got the job done, but as far as passing the ball, setting the ball, hitting the ball to the corners or wherever, we struggled.
"We just needed to get refocused a little bit, and I think we did that overall, but still came out a little flat."
The Warriors started off hot against a rebuilding Panthers squad, dominating the first game from the opening serve. In the second game, Black Hawk cruised to an 11-2 lead before the Panthers came roaring back. Juda took 10 of the next 13 points to trail just 14-12.
Black Hawk regained control and went on an 8-3 run of its own to put the score at 22-15, but Juda came back to 23-20. Kim Wellnitz blocked the Panthers from trying to regain any momentum at game-point just two serves later.
In the third game, Juda looked like a team on the rise that could potentially take a game from one of the area's best squads.
Black Hawk trailed in the third game 4-3 before taking a 7-4 lead. Juda countered with a four-point swing to regain the lead, 8-7. Black Hawk then took the next three. The Panthers hopped back on the mini-coaster with a second four-point run to put the score at 12-10 in the home town's favor.
The Warriors' front line had enough. Sam Noble and Wellnitz each contributed a block and a kill on an 8-1 run that put the score at 18-13 and nearly put the game out of reach.
Juda could only come back to within four at 23-19 before failing to return a volley and allowing an ace to end the match.
"I feel like we played better than the last time we played against them," Panther head coach Pam Green said. "Overall, I thought it was a back-and-forth game, but kind of flat on both ends. There wasn't a lot of hard-fought points."
Juda's Heather Boeke, the team's best all-around player, could only muster five kills and five blocks on the day.
"We really didn't get a chance to use Boeke a lot. There weren't a lot of volleys. It was point-serve-point, just back and forth," Green said.
Juda's Sam Strothman scored 14 slashes in the digs column for the Panthers, who struggled again but may have boosted their own confidence.
"I think we're believing that the teams we're playing we are competing against. Hopefully we can get over that edge," Green said.
Bringing into that confidence was freshman C.J. Dunwiddie, who has played more recently and saw plenty of action on the court against the best team in the region.
"I think C.J. Dunwiddie did a nice job as a freshman coming in. I know she has potential, it's just a matter of getting her out on the floor," Green said.
Black Hawk, despite playing flat, managed to hit 74 of 81 serves into play. Kim Wellnitz led all servers with four aces and added nine kills. Gabi Lehner had three aces and 14 assists. Alyssa Piefer had eight assists and a pair of aces. Paige Butler did the most damage at the net all night, slamming down 14 kills.
"Gabi Lehner did a nice job serving tonight and Rachel Rygh (four kills) did a nice job coming in off the bench - hitting where she needed to hit and being ready to hit. I would say she was a contribution tonight from the bench," Wolff said.
Overall though, with just one last tune-up before playoffs, Wolff was a little surprised by her squad's lackluster showing.
"I thought that we were peaking at the right time, but we came out a little flat and you can't do that in the playoffs," Wolff said.
Black Hawk (11-0) travels to Argyle (1-10) on Thursday trying to end its regular season with a perfect conference record, while Juda (1-10) hosts Monticello (5-6).
