Colby, on the attack, stops Spencer & Greenwood
After suffering their first defeat at the hands of the Stratford Tigers, the Hornets rebounded to earn conference wins over Spencer and Greenwood.
Sandwiched between those two victories was a four set loss to conference rival Neillsville on the road to move to a 3-2 season record, and a 3-1 mark in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference.
Spencer, 3-0
After getting swept 3-0 by the Tigers, the Hornets were in need of a momentum builder. Relief came in the form of a 3-0 sweep of conference rival Spencer on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Hornets came firing out of the gates in the first set, riding the live arms of Lexi Underwood, Olivia Vollrath and Brett Schmitt. Underwood rained down five aces on the night as Vollrath and Schmitt had two apiece in the match.
Colby took the first set 25-9, but with Spencer playing at home, the Rockets rallied in front of their fans and dug deep in the second set.
“That second set was tough,” head coach Nathan Larsen said. “They definitely gained some momentum, and we started that set behind, but were able to pull things together and stopped their momentum.”
The Hornets regrouped and refocused to take the second set 25-20, and Larsen said getting that second set was crucial for the match win.
“We had some tough luck, and balls not bouncing our way, but we pushed through and pulled that set out. Being up 2-0 going into the third set definitely feels better than going in 1-1.”
With the Hornets up 2-0, Colby stayed steady and rode their serves and kills for a 25-14 victory, and a second match win of the year. Emma Peavey and Underwood were devastating at net, notching nine and seven kills. Vollrath added another five kills up front.
Peavey also had a team high 16 digs and Schmitt contributed 11 digs. Brooke Suckow had a team high 15 assists.
Neillsville, 3-1
Neillsville continues to have Colby’s number in 2020, but after last Thursday’s match, the gulf between the two got a whole lot smaller.
The Hornets gave the Warriors everything they could handle, and almost pulled out the victory, but a shaky start proved the Warriors the momentum as the Hornets fell 3-1 on the road.
It was all Neillsville in the first set as the Warriors ran out to a 25-11 mark, but after that, whatever jitters Colby had left the building as the Hornets pushed the Warriors over the next three sets in a match that could have gone either way.
Colby poured it on in the second and stunned the home crowd when they rallied for a 25-18 second set win to even the match at 1-1. From there the battle intensifi ed and both teams traded shots at net.
But it was the Warriors who got the lucky bounces when needed, and took a 2-1 advantage with a 25-21 third set win over the Hornets. Colby refused to give up, and dug in as they worked to force a fifth set. The Hornets’ defense was on display as time and again Colby was able to dig a ball out to extend a point.
In the end, it was by the narrowest of margins that Neillsville escaped a fifth set, taking the fourth 25-22 and dropping Colby to 2-2 on the year.
Lexi Underwood, Brett Schmitt and Olivia Vollrath each had two aces. Emma Peavey had nine kills and Underwood and Vollrath had five apiece.
Brooke Suckow had a team high 16 assists and Schmitt tallied a team high 20 digs. Mariah Schneider had 12 digs, Underwood had 11 and Peavey had 10 digs.
3-0
The Hornets’ regular season continued at home on Tuesday, Sept. 29, on a night were this year’s seniors were celebrated.
The nine seniors on the 2020 squad were determined not to disappoint friends and family on Senior Night - though the Greenwood Indians certainly had designs to play spoiler.
Powerful serves, strikes up front and defensive plays were on hand from both teams, but it was Colby’s offensive barrage that proved too much for Greenwood as the Hornets swarmed the Indians for a 3-0 sweep.
Not that the Indians gave the match away. The first set saw both teams make clutch plays, but Colby’s firepower led the way as the Hornets took the first set 25-19.
The second set continued to remain close as the conference rivals dueled for advantages up front. The Hornets gifted the Indians several service errors to keep the game close, but Olivia Vollrath, Emma Oelrich, Lexi Underwood and Emma Peavey were too strong at net, and Colby escaped with a 25-23 second set victory.
In the third set the Hornets continued to rock and roll, with Brett Schmitt raining havoc on the Indians to the tune of a team high six aces, part of 11 on the night for Colby, as the Hornets won the third set 25-9.
Peavey and Brooke Suckow added three and two aces. Vollrath had a team high 11 kills, Underwood and Emma Oelrich had eight apiece and Peavey notched six kills.
Suckow’s big night extended on defense where she had a career best 33 assists to go with three digs. Peavey and Schmitt added 16 and 14 digs and Emma Kroll had nine.
This most recent win gives the Hornets their third conference win of the season, a huge improvement from last year’s 0-7 Eastern Cloverbelt finish.
“I am very excited about how we have started this year,” Larsen says. “The girls are gaining more and more confidence each day, and are using that confidence on the court when it counts! There is definitely a different energy in the building this year.”
The Hornets’ match with Columbus Catholic on Oct. 1 has been cancelled due to COVID-19, but Colby will have a chance to stay atop the conference standings with a conference road match against Owen-Withee on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
