×

Bulldogs collar Maverick spikers, 3-0

DIGGING IT — Martin County West’s Lucy Larson (far right) makes a diving dig during Valley Conference volleyball action against Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton on Thursday night in Trimont. The Mavericks’ Emily Dunlop (14), Olivia Anderson (middle) and libero Katie Hummel (20) watch the action. (Photo by Greg Abel)

TRIMONT — Early leads weren’t enough to seal a Maverick victory.

The Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Bulldogs swept Martin County West 25-16, 25-23, 25-20, during Valley Conference volleyball action Thursday night in Trimont. The Mavericks led early in all three games, but the Bulldogs charged back.

MCW took a 5-2 lead in Game 1 off two Emily Anderson assists, first to Gabby Lange and then to Emily Dunlop, as well as a Katie Hummel ace before two Andra Armstrong aces brought the Bulldogs to a tie.

JWP took its first lead at 8-7 when a Maverick spike went long, then built to a 17-11 lead by taking advantage of MCW mistakes. After the Bulldogs were called for being in the net and a Maverick spike traveling past the back line, Armstrong found a groove again. Armstrong served the Bulldogs to a 22-12 advantage with help from two Claire Adams assists and a Mara Richardson assist on two Alexa Cords kills and a Jessa Westphal spike.

Adams then assisted Cords again to bring the lead to 23-14 after two Bulldog errors, then Westphal ended Game 1 with a spike off Adam’s seventh assist of the game.

Maverick head coach Hilary Elliott said she thought the team worked less cohesively than in previous matchups.

“We probably didn’t play as well as we did on Tuesday,” Elliott said. “Tuesday we were a little more active and played more together. Tonight I didn’t feel like we were meshing well as a team.”

Dunlop collected the first points of Game 2 when she used a Taylor Elliott assist for a kill, then combined with Elliott for an ace block. Lucy Larson then dug out a spike, which turned into an Elliott-assisted kill for Grace Bicknase to put the Mavericks ahead 4-1, but an illegal serve gave the Bulldogs an opportunity to come back.

The teams traded points to get to 10-8, then the Bulldogs struck.

Sydney Gahlon served the Bulldogs to a 12-10 lead with an ace and a couple of Maverick mistakes, and the Bulldogs built their lead as far as 24-20 before Maya Richardson assited an Adams kill to end Game 2, 25-23 Bulldogs.

The Mavericks started an extended run to begin Game 3.

Bicknase started the final game behind the line and served the Mavericks to a 2-0 lead with an ace and an assist of a Taylor Elliott kill, before Richardson and Megan Walz combined for an ace block to give the Bulldogs their first point.

Bicknase and Elliott combined again to get Larson to the service line, where she served the Mavericks to a 5-1 lead off a Dunlop ace block.

With Dunlop serving, Lange hit an ace block to extend the Maverick lead to 9-2, the largest MCW advantage of the day, but the Bulldogs began to rally.

Armstrong served the Bulldogs to eight consecutive points, taking an 11-9 lead.

The teams traded points and stayed within three of each other to an 18-15 Bulldog advantage, then traded two more points before Richardson assisted Adams to give the Bulldogs a 20-16 advantage.

Two Bulldog kills, both on Richardson assists, from Cords and Westphal, and an ace from Adams brought the game to 24-20, and Adams and Richardson connected one final time to end the sweep.

Taylor Elliott led the Mavericks with nine assists, while adding two kills and two aces. Lange led MCW with eight kills, while Dunlop added six kills and blocked three spikes.

bicknase contributed four assists, one kill and one ace.

Adams led the Bulldogs with 14 assists and added seven kills, while Richardson dished out 13 assists and spiked six kills. Armstrong served five aces, while Cords had eight kills.

MCW (0-4) travels to Mankato Loyola on Monday, while JWP (4-2) plays host to Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman in Janesville.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.65/week.

Subscribe Today