SOUTH WAYNE — After falling to Albany 3-1 last Monday, Pecatonica faced even more adversity in its match against Black Hawk on Thursday, Sept. 28. The Vikings, who are second in the Six Rivers East Conference, defeated Black Hawk, the second-to-last team in conference, 3-1 with each set decided by five or less points.
“We saw them [Black Hawk] at home and knew that no matter how the first half of the conference went, we had to show up and play our game,” Pecatonica head coach Liz McGowan said. “We went on good runs tonight, but there were times when they got the ball that we needed to get a side out quicker to stop it. When we did that, it was fun to see the girls do their thing.”
In fact, Pecatonica went on a seven-point rally after losing the first point on a service ace from Mya Milz. Madelyn Cleary sparked the run with a kill, followed by back-to-back service aces from Loretta Tisch. In that stretch, Cleary had another kill, and Loretta Tisch served up another ace.
The Vikings extended their lead to 14-5 with kills from Diana Hendrickson and Anna Tisch, forcing a Warrior timeout. Aside from Milz’s ace, Black Hawk scored on Pecatonica’s errors.
“Not that we want to be down eight points, but I do think they have the resilience and perseverance not to get too riled up about it and keep playing point for point,” Black Hawk head coach Rachel Wolff said.
Her team did just that — fight — out of the timeout, going on an 8-1 run. Mya Milz and Allyse Troemel recorded kills, while Pecatonica hurt itself with errors.
The Vikings got a side out from Cleary, while Mikaela Gross’s kill put Pecatonica up 21-15. Wolff brought her team together once again, where the Warriors rallied to tie the set at 23.
Hailey Wellnitz registered her first kill out of the timeout, while Troemel added two more. Veronica Cheatham blocked an attack, and Maddy Lange’s service ace knotted the set. Lange gave the momentum right back, though, with a service error. Loretta Tisch then finished off the set, 25-23, with a kill off the Warrior block.
In the second set, Pecatonica and Black Hawk were knotted three times before back-to-back service aces from Makayla Kammes gave the Warriors their first lead of the game. The Vikings came back to tie the set at 12 and 13 all before a back-row kill from Loretta Tisch gave Pecatonica the lead for good.
With a six-point rally, separated by a Warrior timeout, the Vikings extended their lead to 23-15. Loretta Tisch gave a quick set to Hendrickson, who smashed a kill. Anna Tisch then served up an ace.
Although Pecatonica faltered late, allowing Black Hawk back into the set 24-20, Loretta Tisch came up clutch just as she did in the first set for a set-winning kill, 25-20.
The Vikings jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the third set and looked to walk out of the gym with a sweep, just like they did in their first meeting with the Warriors. But Black Hawk, down to its last hope, never gave up.
“We stopped playing not to lose and started playing to win,” Wolff said.
Troemel took advantage of an overpass, smashing the ball down for a kill. Cheatham continued the strong net play with a block, while Lange found a hole with a tip kill.
Lange gave the momentum right back, though, with an attack error on the next point. The mistake led to a seven-point rally for the Vikings, who extended their lead to 22-11. With the end in sight, Pecatonica made a series of unforced errors.
Cheatham’s overpass kill got Black Hawk within one, 23-22, forcing McGowan to call her first timeout of the game. An attack error on Gross knotted the set at 23, and Cheatham’s tip gave Black Hawk its first lead. The two teams exchanged the next five points before Kendra Haldiman recorded back-to-back kills for the 28-26 set victory.
“I was scared my timing was going to be off,” she said of the final attack. “But I was ready [for a return].”
The momentum was short-lived, though, as Pecatonica jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the fourth set. Black Hawk’s three points came on Viking errors.
Out of the break, the Warriors outscored the Vikings 8-3. Lange smashed a kill on an overpass, while Milz and Troemel added kills of their own. The run put Black Hawk within three at 14-11, prompting a Viking timeout.
The match played back and forth the rest of the way with Black Hawk getting as close as two points on an attack error, but Pecatonica prevailed 25-23.
Veronica Cheatham led Black Hawk with nine kills. At the net she and Troemel tallied three blocks apiece. Kammes served up two aces, while Milz recorded eight assists.
Despite the loss, the Warriors found a groove that they will take forward in the rest of conference.
“We are finally starting to get in our rhythm, work together and communicate,” Haldiman said. “Moving forward this will help us a lot, and I’m really excited.”
