ALBANY - Juda junior outside hitter Molly Marass won't argue with the results under first-year coach Scott Anderson.
Marass had six kills and six aces to propel Juda to a four-set win over Albany 25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 25-5 Thursday, Oct. 3.
"It feels amazing especially after the big loss to Barneveld," Marass said. "It really boosts our confidence after this win."
With the win, Juda improved to 6-8, 5-4 Six Rivers East. The Panthers are just one year removed from finishing 1-11 in the conference.
"This year has been so much fun to have a winning record," Marass said. "We have done a lot of hitting in practice and tried to keep the ball in front of us and get it to go down. I think we can keep improving our hitting."
Both teams were plagued by unforced hitting errors at times during the match. The Comets (3-12, 1-8 Six Rivers East) had five hitting errors that went out of bounds and four hitting errors that went into the net in the final set.
"In the fourth game we just went into the dump," Albany coach Connie Wunschel said. "They looked at that and fed off the negative. It's not the way we thought that last one would go. I think they were kind of timid. They waited for the other team to dictate the tempo of the game instead of by being the monsters of the midway themselves."
The Panthers got on a roll in the first set behind Marass who had six straight service points including three consecutive aces to give the Panthers an 8-1 lead. The Comets battled back with a big block from senior Ashlee Berra and a kill by junior Alexis Kennedy to cut the Panthers' lead to 14-13. Juda junior Cheyenne Ambler closed out the first set win with 10 straight service points including once ace.
"We live and die by keeping the ball in play," Anderson said of the Panthers. "We did that again tonight."
Berra had 16 digs and five blocks. Kennedy finished with a match-high 10 kills and senior Felicia Conley added 12 assists.
"I love watching her (Berra) play," Wunschel said. "Sometimes she does so much in the front row she forgets where she is in the back row."
In the second set, Berra scored nine straight service points and had one ace to help the Comets take a 17-9 lead. The Panthers went through a cold spell hitting three out of bounds and one into the net. Juda senior Jessica Jordan had a block late in the game to slice the Comets' lead to 22-19. The Comets later responded with Berra scoring on a tip to help put the Panthers away.
"I think our unforced errors come when we play tight at times," Anderson said. "We were swinging and hitting the ball a lot better tonight. We are making progress. We keep on moving forward. We always tell them to keep loose and swing hard. We need to keep a hitter's mentality. It's a big step for Juda."
The Panthers jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the third set behind strong net play by senior Kristen Swaag and Jordan. The Comets stormed back with two kills by Berra to slice the Panthers' lead to 16-14. Berra also had an ace late in the third set to cut the Panthers' lead to 24-22, but that is as close as they would get. The Comets had five service errors in the match and three in the third set.
"It just doesn't make sense," Wunschel said. "We play good and come back. I don't know. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
Then came the final set where the Panthers got on a roll and the Comets didn't make it around their serving rotation. Juda senior Tabatha Davis scored eight straight service points to give the Panthers an insurmountable 16-3 lead.
Davis and freshman Chelsea Burkhalter each finished with 17 digs and Jordan added five blocks. The Panthers are looking to finish with a winning season in the conference before the regional tournament begins.
"It felt amazing," Marass said. "After these last few years we never felt good after a win or pushing forward. I think other teams will have to look out for us in the future."
Marass had six kills and six aces to propel Juda to a four-set win over Albany 25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 25-5 Thursday, Oct. 3.
"It feels amazing especially after the big loss to Barneveld," Marass said. "It really boosts our confidence after this win."
With the win, Juda improved to 6-8, 5-4 Six Rivers East. The Panthers are just one year removed from finishing 1-11 in the conference.
"This year has been so much fun to have a winning record," Marass said. "We have done a lot of hitting in practice and tried to keep the ball in front of us and get it to go down. I think we can keep improving our hitting."
Both teams were plagued by unforced hitting errors at times during the match. The Comets (3-12, 1-8 Six Rivers East) had five hitting errors that went out of bounds and four hitting errors that went into the net in the final set.
"In the fourth game we just went into the dump," Albany coach Connie Wunschel said. "They looked at that and fed off the negative. It's not the way we thought that last one would go. I think they were kind of timid. They waited for the other team to dictate the tempo of the game instead of by being the monsters of the midway themselves."
The Panthers got on a roll in the first set behind Marass who had six straight service points including three consecutive aces to give the Panthers an 8-1 lead. The Comets battled back with a big block from senior Ashlee Berra and a kill by junior Alexis Kennedy to cut the Panthers' lead to 14-13. Juda junior Cheyenne Ambler closed out the first set win with 10 straight service points including once ace.
"We live and die by keeping the ball in play," Anderson said of the Panthers. "We did that again tonight."
Berra had 16 digs and five blocks. Kennedy finished with a match-high 10 kills and senior Felicia Conley added 12 assists.
"I love watching her (Berra) play," Wunschel said. "Sometimes she does so much in the front row she forgets where she is in the back row."
In the second set, Berra scored nine straight service points and had one ace to help the Comets take a 17-9 lead. The Panthers went through a cold spell hitting three out of bounds and one into the net. Juda senior Jessica Jordan had a block late in the game to slice the Comets' lead to 22-19. The Comets later responded with Berra scoring on a tip to help put the Panthers away.
"I think our unforced errors come when we play tight at times," Anderson said. "We were swinging and hitting the ball a lot better tonight. We are making progress. We keep on moving forward. We always tell them to keep loose and swing hard. We need to keep a hitter's mentality. It's a big step for Juda."
The Panthers jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the third set behind strong net play by senior Kristen Swaag and Jordan. The Comets stormed back with two kills by Berra to slice the Panthers' lead to 16-14. Berra also had an ace late in the third set to cut the Panthers' lead to 24-22, but that is as close as they would get. The Comets had five service errors in the match and three in the third set.
"It just doesn't make sense," Wunschel said. "We play good and come back. I don't know. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
Then came the final set where the Panthers got on a roll and the Comets didn't make it around their serving rotation. Juda senior Tabatha Davis scored eight straight service points to give the Panthers an insurmountable 16-3 lead.
Davis and freshman Chelsea Burkhalter each finished with 17 digs and Jordan added five blocks. The Panthers are looking to finish with a winning season in the conference before the regional tournament begins.
"It felt amazing," Marass said. "After these last few years we never felt good after a win or pushing forward. I think other teams will have to look out for us in the future."
