Marawood foes prove challenging for Hornets
The Colby volleyball team came up short against their twin Marawood foes over the past week, falling to the likes of Stratford and Edgar in their two non-conference matches. Despite improvement and some close sets, the Hornets could not pull out a set victory in either match, dropping both in straight sets.
3-0
The then 2-0 Wildcats looked right at home against the visiting Colby squad last Thursday, and while the Hornets made things close at times, they could not quite match Edgar, which won 2514, 25-22 and 25-22.
Colby had a tough time breaking through the Wildcats’ defense, with only 19.4 percent of their hitting attempts resulting in a kill. Twenty hitting errors and some struggles getting a good starting pass to start the offensive possession were also obstacles that made life difficult for the Hornets.
“While we lost in straight sets, the matches were tight and there were individuals that took big steps forward,” head coach Wade Oehmichen said of the match. “We corrected our serving errors from the last match but are still looking to improve on our passing and hitting errors. But we haven’t faced a conference opponent yet and if we keep improving at this rate we will be very competitive in the conference.”
One could see flashes of that improvement, especially over the second two sets, but the Wildcats were able to hold them off both times to complete the sweep.
Daelyn Rieck led the team with seven kills and Savana Thomsen had 13 digs and five assists for the Hornets. Lydia Decker, Lilly Brzezinski and Kylie Orth all finished with positive hitting percentages and left the game with four, three and two kills respectively. Hannah Trush had the sole two aces for Colby in the match.
3-0
The Hornets also fell in straight sets to Stratford last Tuesday, with the Tigers taking the best of three 25-16, 2515, and 25-23.
While Colby eventually seemed to find their footing, it took some time for the team to get into the flow of their offense, time that the Tigers were not willing to give them. Stratford was readily in charge for the first set, and despite a strong opening to the second set, a big run in the middle of the game once again gave the visitors a victory.
As the third set progressed, the Tigers once again established a healthy lead, but a late push from the Hornets made things interesting. With improved serving and an offense that looked the most lethal it had all evening, Colby began to scratch their way back into the contest. They cut Stratford’s lead down to one at 24-23, but could not come up with the final point that would have pushed the game on.
Rieck and Decker led the team with four kills each, Trush had two aces from the service line, Tori Underwood had 11 digs and Josie Higley picked up six assists.
