ARGYLE — In a late season friendly, Darlington swept the host Orioles 3-0 Oct. 15 in three very tight sets, 26-24, 25-22, 25-21.
“This game — there’s nothing hurt by it. We’re here to get experience and to learn to make smarter decisions and to work on different shots,” Argyle coach Jen Green said.
The match was bookended by sets which looked like Argyle would walk away victorious, only for the Redbirds to buckle down and close the gap with a devasting run.
In the first frame, Argyle found itself ahead 21-18, forcing Darlington coach Danielle Duerst to call a timeout and raise her voice at her players to wake them up. Moments later, the Orioles had the Redbirds at game-point, 24-20.
“Props to Argyle — they are strong and they go out and swing at every ball. I don’t think we were ready for that,” Duerst said.
That’s when Argyle unraveled for the first time, starting with a side-out on a return out of bounds, followed by an illegal hit and a failed return. Argyle coach Jen Green called a timeout herself with her squad ahead 24-23, but another deep return tied it up, then Sydney Beasley hammed home a kill to put Darlington up 25-26. A deep return on the next volley gave the Redbirds the win.
“The whole season we’ve only gone three sets, except for our four-set match against Platteville. They can close out a match, and they can fight back, as we did in two of those matches tonight,” Duerst said. “I talk to them about getting a fire in their belly and get after that ball, and I think they are finally starting to realize what I mean by that — don’t just go out there to play, go out their to win and to do your best, giving 110% all the time.”
Darlington led the second set 11-7, only for Argyle to tie at 15, 16 and 17. The two teams battled down the stretch, with Beasley and teammate Laura Sturtz scoring kills to end it.
“(Coach Green) told us that we were playing like a team; playing strong,” junior hitter Tori Lantz said. “She said we were sticking with them, and there was no need to shut down.”
In the third set, Argyle came out firing, taking a 4-1 lead and later going up 12-6 after a pair of aces from Grace Ganshert and a block and a kill from Maggie Godfrey. When the score hit 18-11, momentum appeared to be fully on the side of the home team despite the team showing signs of running out of gas.
That’s when the Redbirds rose again, peeling off a 14-3 run to close out the set and the match.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew Darlington was going to be tough — I knew they were good — and I knew we were down a player,” Green said. “We came out strong and worked very well together and didn’t give up. We didn’t give up.”
Argyle played without starting setter Megan Johnson, who missed the game as a precaution after feeling under the weather. The team had struggled earlier in the season when she sat out in quarantine, but against Darlington, backup Jenna Allison held her own despite subbing in on short notice.
“She did a very good job stepping into that role and taking over,” Green said. “We still practice all the time with two setters, because you never know when somebody is going to be out.”
Beasley, Sturtz and Kaylee Schwartz all had two aces for the Redbirds on the night. Beasley added 12 kills, while Sturtz dished out 20 assists and Schwartz had five digs. Taylor Wedig finished the night with nine kills and two blocks for Darlington.
“It was rough,” Lantz said of playing against Beasley, Wedig and the fast-moving Redbirds offense. “We came together as a team tonight and actually stayed together pretty well.”
Godfrey closed the night with a match-high 13 kills, while Lantz had four blocks. Breann Flannery had 28 digs and two aces, while Ganshert had a pair of aces and Allison 24 assists.
“Jenna did really well for us tonight, and she hasn’t set for us in a while,” Lantz said.
Other area results
Oct. 17: Black Hawk 3, Argyle 0
SOUTH WAYNE — The Warriors returned to action after a brief pause in the season due to a COVID-19-related shutdown.
Bailey Butler and Makayla Mau each had 15 kills for Black Hawk, which remained undefeated on the season with the 25-16, 25-23, 25-16 victory.
Macie Stauffacher had 13 assists and an ace for the Warriors. Butler, Mau, Tara Wellnitz, Erika Schultz and Tatum Baumgartner also recorded aces. Butler added seven digs and Raylin Peterson had two blocks.
Pecatonica 3, Albany 1
BLANCHARDVILLE — The Vikings returned to action and received a good display of defense from the back row.
Tessa Green (15 digs), Lily Busser (14), Nivaeh Gross (14) and Gracie Gordon (13) kept numerous volleys alive for Pecatonica, which won 25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 25-23.
Lexi Peterson had six kills and seven blocks for Pecatonica, while Busser had seven kills and Green finished with three aces. Sydney Eaton added 16 assists for the Vikings.
Brianna Dahl paced Albany with 16 kills, four blocks, 12 assists and four aces. Mady Conway recorded eight kills, while Payton Firth had 16 assists. Alana Durstchi chipped in with 17 digs and Myah Johnson tallied 14 digs and five aces.
Oct. 15: Barneveld 3, Juda 1
JUDA — The Panthers won the opening set in thrilling fashion, 29-27, then dropped the next three to the Eagles 19-25, 8-25, 21-25.
Libby Jordan led Juda with six kills, Maddie Smith finished with 12 assists and Jerzie Lerch had a block. Morgan Schneeberger was the star of the match for Juda, recording nine aces and a remarkable 70 digs.
Barneveld’s Leah Marx had 12 kills, 17 digs and seven blocks, while Mya Baker added four aces and Kennedy Gordon tallied 30 assists.
