DARLINGTON — The Redbirds moved to 2-0 on the shortened fall volleyball season thanks to a 3-0 sweep of Iowa-Grant Sept. 17. Darlington knocked off the Panthers 25-23, 25-21, 25-10.
“It’s good to be back,” first-year head coach Danielle Duerst said. “I’m happy with the season so far. I feel like we are improving with every game, for the most part. Volleyball is a roller coaster and you’re going to have your ups and downs — hopefully we have more ups than downs.”
Iowa-Grant reached the WIAA Division 4 sectional final in 2019, but that didn’t scare the Redbirds, who beat both the Panthers and themselves in each of the first two sets.
“We talked about unforced errors a lot. We have to keep our errors to a minimum or we are not going to come out on top,” Duerst said. “We had 25 unforced errors in Game 1 and Game 2 — none in Game 3, and they only scored 10 points.”
Game 1, Game 2, our serving was not there, and our passing wasn’t good either. We stepped it up in Game 3.Danielle Duerst, Darlington coach
Serving was the big issue early on. Four of the first five Darlington serves failed to make it over the net into play, which kept extended rallies at bay.
“Game 1, Game 2, our serving was not there, and our passing wasn’t good either. We stepped it up in Game 3,” Duerst said.
Trailing 13-11 in the first set, the Redbirds finally got consistency at the service line from Laura Sturtz, which helped the home team reel off a 12-3 run to go ahead 21-15.
“When I have Laura in the back row is probably when we strive the most. She’s a leader on the team. Her comfort level is in the back row,” Duerst said.
The momentum carried over early into the second set as Darlington went up 8-3, forcing Iowa-Grant coach Lois Peart to call a timeout. The pause in action suited the visiting team perfectly, as the Panthers scored a side out immediately on a kill by MaKayla Pilling and ran off an 11-4 run to go up 14-12.
Then the Sydney Beasley show kicked into gear. With steady serving from behind her, Beasley, a towering 6-foot middle hitter, got into a groove at the net.
“Having her is huge on our team. We’re not really deep with power hitters — she’s my only real power hitter, so if we can get the ball to her and keep her moving … we’ll be in good shape,” Duerst said.
Beasley had three kills and a block that keyed a 7-0 run to put Darlington back on top 19-14.
In the third set, the Redbirds opened on a 7-3 run. A 7-0 run minutes later put Darlington ahead by 10, and the Redbirds closed the match on a 10-1 charge with multiple reserves getting in on the action.
“Our serving was on; we were passing well; our offense was going; our defense was right on top of everything — we looked good in Game 3,” Duerst said.
We just have to work on getting everything together. We have good passers, we have a good setter, we have our good hitters — we just have to put it together now,.Sydney Beasley, Darlington senior
Beasley led all hitters with 13 kills on the night. Sturtz had three aces and 22 assists. Beasley and Jaidyn Evenstad each had four blocks, and Kaylee Schwartz led the Redbirds with seven digs.
Beasley said that she and the team are happy to be able to get back out on the court and play again, and that the transition of style of play under Duerst was going well.
“We all love her — she’s great. Our practices are tough, but that’s good,” Beasley said. “It’s been exciting to get back out there. I’ve been waiting for this all season — all year, actually. We have great chemistry on the court. I love it.”
Up next for Darlington is a Sept. 22 home match against Boscobel, which went winless in conference play in 2019. A second matchup against Mineral Point Sept. 24 is scheduled to be played in Darlington.
“We just have to work on getting everything together. We have good passers, we have a good setter, we have our good hitters — we just have to put it together now,” Beasley said.
