By Natalie Dillon
ndillon@
themonroetimes.com
SOUTH WAYNE — Despite digging itself into a hole in overall matches and set-by-set, Black Hawk persevered in a five-set match against Albany 15-25, 26-24, 25-23, 18-25, 15-10 on Sept. 12.
“We are a Jekyll and Hyde team,” Black Hawk head coach Rachel Wolff said of the Warriors’ inconsistent play. “We often dig ourselves a hole. Tonight we got out of it, but other times, we can’t.”
Mya Milz opened the game with an ace, and the Warriors rode the momentum to take a 5-1 lead. But a service error by Reese Anderson led to a 10-1 run for Albany. The Comets tied the set, 5-5, on a double called on Milz and took the lead on an attack error by Hailey Wellnitz.
With back-to-back attack errors to make it 11-6, where Warriors hit the ball into the net, Wolff called a timeout. The break slowed the bleeding, as Black Hawk and Albany exchanged the next seven points.
But more errors on the Warriors — serve mishaps and miscommunication on the court — led to another timeout with Black Hawk trailing 18-10.
Once again, the break slowed the bleeding. But even trading points, Albany had built up a big enough lead to take the first set 25-15. The final point came on a kill from Kierra Cleasby, as Keira Brunner’s dig went back over the net out of bounds.
The second set was tight early on, as the two teams were tied up six times in the first 14 points. Ellie Modaff’s tip sparked a small run. She then went back to the service line where the Comets won the next four points.
Down the stretch, another kill from Modaff put Albany ahead 16-11, forcing a Black Hawk timeout. After exchanging the next six points, Wolff called her second timeout.
This time, the Warriors won four straight points. At the service line, Anderson targeted first-year volleyball player Abby Hollis for two aces. Milz then smashed a kill in front of the back row, forcing Albany’s first timeout of the match.
Although the Comets won the first two points out of the break, the Warriors went on an 8-3 run to close out the set. Maddy Lange had the final point on a block kill.
To earn points in the third set, Albany focused on ball placement, specifically angles. Cleasby had back-to-back points from the left pin, finding holes on Black Hawk’s own left side of the floor.
“With Kierra and Abby swinging angles, this gives way to more area to try and score points with harder, more confident swings,” Albany head coach Scott Smice said.
Later in the set, Modaff pushed the ball toward the back corner for a kill. Anna Ellinger then switched up her swing for a tip kill, and Modaff took advantage of an overpass for a 16-11 lead. Despite a Warrior timeout, Albany won the next two points. The Comets’ seven-point run occurred with Emma Grosz at the service line. She finished the night with an 86.7 serve percentage and an ace.
“Emma’s serves have been coming along great these past few weeks,” Smice said. “It’s something she works on in practice and is certainly helping us score points.”
But, Maddy Lange went on her own run at the service line. During a six-point Warrior rally, Lange had back-to-back service aces.
Despite two Comet timeouts, Black Hawk tied the set up six times down the stretch. The latest occurred at 23-23, as it took Albany four hits to get the ball over. The free ball error sent Wellnitz to the line, where she ended the set on back-to-back aces. The 25-23 win gave her team a decisive 2-1 edge headed into the fourth set.
There, Albany ran into early attack troubles. In six attempts, the Comets didn’t record a single kill and had three errors, resulting in a -.500 hitting percentage and 7-3 deficit. Once they cleaned those up, the success came back.
On the second ball, Modaff pushed a ball deep beyond the back row. She knotted the set at 9 with a service ace, and freshman Lexi Eastwood gave Albany a 10-9 lead with a kill.
Black Hawk and Albany went on small runs before a key Comet timeout. Albany trailed 20-18 with three straight errors. After the break, the Comets won five straight points to force a fifth set.
But Albany’s momentum ran out. The team struggled to string points together and had a tough time defending the Warriors’ pushes. Lange and Wellnitz noticed the back row creeping up and took advantage.
“I saw the back row creeping up, and I told my setter, Maddy (Place), to give it to me — I’d push it past them,” Wellnitz said.
Getting rewarded for her passes to Wellnitz, Place smashed the final kill of the game — an attack that glanced off the fingertips of blockers Isabelle Brewer and Ellinger.
“I’ve been struggling hitting lately, so it felt good to get that and have my teammates surrounding me,” Place said.
With the win, Black Hawk improves to 1-3 in the Six Rivers East, the same record as Albany. Wellnitz and Lange combined for 11 aces. In fact, Lange didn’t have a single error in 24 attempts, leading to a 100 serve percentage. She and Place led the offense with nine kills each. Brunner distributed the offense with 15 assists, while all but two Warriors had double-digit digs.
For Albany, three hitters tallied double-digit kills — Ellinger (16), Modaff (13) and Cleasby (10). Modaff distributed the offense with a team-high 29 assists. She was also one of four players with double-digit digs.
