On Thursday, October 11, the varsity volleyball team had an electrifying game against the Ames Little Cyclones. The match went to a thrilling five sets. The Cubs lost the first two, but gathered themselves to win the next three.
The Cubs had an astounding serve percentage of .947. Senior Maddie Stevens didn’t miss a serve all night, finishing with a 100% serve percentage. Junior Morgan Tupper was right behind her with three aces and a .947 serve efficiency.
Junior Kacie Rewerts led the team with a kill efficiency of .487. The team ended with a .279 kill efficiency. Morgan Tupper led the way with the most assists with 33, and Amanda Fortmann was right behind her with 21. Sophomore Ellie Gray had tremendous amount of digs with 22.
The Cubs lost the first set 22-25 and the second set 19-25.
“We were really flat in the first two games, but we were still able to stay somewhat close throughout both games,” said Coach Lori Stephenson.
In set three, the Cubs were able to gain some momentum, the energy in the gym rocketed, and the student section and the bench were very into the game. The energy spike helped the Cubs to a 25-19 set win. Maddie Stevens had a great serving run. Kacie Rewerts and sophomore Hannah Thomsen had kills during that serving run, and Ames made mistakes that helped the Cubs out.
In set four, the Cubs took a 9-3 lead in the beginning and never looked back. They won 25-23. Ames battled after being down, but Nevada never let them score more than one point at a time.
In set five, Nevada hopped out to a 8-1 lead. With the game only going to 15, that was a huge boost for the Cubs. The Cyclones went on a little run but the Cubs kept their composure and beat Ames 15-9.
“It was important for us to keep Ames out of system all night,” said Stephenson. “It was really hard for them to get a big hit when they are out of system.”
Going to five sets could have been tiring and the energy could have been low, but the Cubs battled all night. They learned that energy levels and perseverance wins games. Playing hard and not cautious helped the Cubs in the close games. After the game they learned they won the conference title, so it was a great way to end the night for the Cubs.
The win brought the Cubs to a 20-14 record. The Cubs play their first regional game on Wednesday, October 17, at home against North Polk.
Article contributed by Addi Vorm.
