ARGYLE - Pecatonica ruined the Orioles volleyball parent's night, sweeping Argyle, Tuesday, 25-21, 25-23, 25-16.
"It was frustrating," Argyle head coach Shane Johnson said. "The girls gave everything they had and fought as hard as they could. But we just couldn't finish plays. Pec played really good defense. They picked up everything we hit over the net."
The match opened with both teams struggling through a tug-of-war for points. Neither team took more than a 3-point lead at any one time in the first game until a late charge by Pecatonica put the Vikings up 23-19.
"It was a battle," Pecatonica head coach Cher Schliem said. "It was an offensive and defensive battle. Argyle has a lot of weapons and has a lot to bring at us. We had to tighten up a few spots."
In the second game, both teams again went point for point with each other.
"Both teams worked hard," Schliem said. "There were some really good volleys."
Argyle got the leg up early, gaining a 3-point lead midway through the game, 13-10. That lead extended to four at 15-11, but a 7-2 run put the Vikings ahead 18-17.
Johnson called a time out to slow the momentum. The Orioles took the next five points behind great serving from Kim Fischer, and led 22-18.
From there, Argyle's season-long struggle to hold a lead resurfaced.
Pecatonica went on a 7-1 run to end the frame, putting the Orioles down two games.
"We've got to be able to make fundamental plays," Johnson said. "They've got the physical ability to do so, (but) they just have to decide they're going to.
After taking the first two points of Game 3, Argyle struggled keeping the ball in a volley. Pecatonica went on a 7-0 run behind Kaitlyn Linder.
"We talked about keeping the momentum on our side. We are trying to not play scared, because if we play scared, we get down," Schliem said. "We stuck with our game."
Three times in the set the Orioles brought themselves back to within two points, with the final time being at 12-10. That's when the Vikings rattled off nine-straight points, including two aces from senior Kimee Chandler.
Trailing 23-11, Argyle showed some signs of a comeback, scoring five of six points to close the gap to 24-16. But a failure to return a volley ended the match.
"It was all ball handling errors - serve-receive, hitting errors. We're giving free points away," Johnson said. "I think the girls are at a crossroads. I think we can either buckle down or we can crumble. Physically we can finish our matches, but it's all going to depend on what they bring to practice night after night. Right now we have a lot of work to do."
Schliem was pleased with her team's effort, especially from her front line and Ellie Gifford.
"Our front row played great. We were really happy with how well they played," Schliem said. "And Ellie Gifford really came on strong. She had an all around good night."
Gifford finished with 11 assists and six digs. Holly Vlasak had a team-high seven digs, Cassie Swenson had six kills and Elizabeth Ihm had eight blocks. Chandler had seven digs and was 16-for-17 from the service line. Linder finished 17-for-19 serving.
For Argyle, Lindsay Flanagan had 10 digs and two blocks, Fischer notched three aces, Cassie Welch finished with five kills and Kelsey Bartels added two blocks. Stephanie Cuevas dished out 13 assists and had 10 digs as well for the Orioles.
"It was frustrating," Argyle head coach Shane Johnson said. "The girls gave everything they had and fought as hard as they could. But we just couldn't finish plays. Pec played really good defense. They picked up everything we hit over the net."
The match opened with both teams struggling through a tug-of-war for points. Neither team took more than a 3-point lead at any one time in the first game until a late charge by Pecatonica put the Vikings up 23-19.
"It was a battle," Pecatonica head coach Cher Schliem said. "It was an offensive and defensive battle. Argyle has a lot of weapons and has a lot to bring at us. We had to tighten up a few spots."
In the second game, both teams again went point for point with each other.
"Both teams worked hard," Schliem said. "There were some really good volleys."
Argyle got the leg up early, gaining a 3-point lead midway through the game, 13-10. That lead extended to four at 15-11, but a 7-2 run put the Vikings ahead 18-17.
Johnson called a time out to slow the momentum. The Orioles took the next five points behind great serving from Kim Fischer, and led 22-18.
From there, Argyle's season-long struggle to hold a lead resurfaced.
Pecatonica went on a 7-1 run to end the frame, putting the Orioles down two games.
"We've got to be able to make fundamental plays," Johnson said. "They've got the physical ability to do so, (but) they just have to decide they're going to.
After taking the first two points of Game 3, Argyle struggled keeping the ball in a volley. Pecatonica went on a 7-0 run behind Kaitlyn Linder.
"We talked about keeping the momentum on our side. We are trying to not play scared, because if we play scared, we get down," Schliem said. "We stuck with our game."
Three times in the set the Orioles brought themselves back to within two points, with the final time being at 12-10. That's when the Vikings rattled off nine-straight points, including two aces from senior Kimee Chandler.
Trailing 23-11, Argyle showed some signs of a comeback, scoring five of six points to close the gap to 24-16. But a failure to return a volley ended the match.
"It was all ball handling errors - serve-receive, hitting errors. We're giving free points away," Johnson said. "I think the girls are at a crossroads. I think we can either buckle down or we can crumble. Physically we can finish our matches, but it's all going to depend on what they bring to practice night after night. Right now we have a lot of work to do."
Schliem was pleased with her team's effort, especially from her front line and Ellie Gifford.
"Our front row played great. We were really happy with how well they played," Schliem said. "And Ellie Gifford really came on strong. She had an all around good night."
Gifford finished with 11 assists and six digs. Holly Vlasak had a team-high seven digs, Cassie Swenson had six kills and Elizabeth Ihm had eight blocks. Chandler had seven digs and was 16-for-17 from the service line. Linder finished 17-for-19 serving.
For Argyle, Lindsay Flanagan had 10 digs and two blocks, Fischer notched three aces, Cassie Welch finished with five kills and Kelsey Bartels added two blocks. Stephanie Cuevas dished out 13 assists and had 10 digs as well for the Orioles.
