SWV blows past CD

LEON – It was all Southwest Valley Tuesday night as the Timberwolves rolled over Central Decatur in three straight sets in a 3-0 match win.

SWV jumped out ahead early, going on a 7-2 run to take control at a 10-5 points lead. The Timberwolves had it going fin the right direction early with well executed passing and good floor communication.

A long volley between the Cardinals and the Timberwolves resulted in a point for SWV, pushing the score to 12-9 in favor of SWV. The point was the start of another long stretch where it pulled away, this time going on a 10-2 run to make the score 21-11,

Two scores for Central Decatur knocked the Timberwolves off their rhythm, but SWV regained its groove as it won out four straight points to take the 1-0 set lead.

The Cardinals battled back in the second set, going ahead early 4-2 before surrendering the lead on a five-point run for SWV. Central Decatur hung around enough to keep it at a one point game, but the Timberwolves kept outmatching and out playing the Cardinals enough to pull ahead enough for a 25-20 set win to go ahead 2-0.

Entering the evening match, Southwest Valley head coach Linday Wetzel felt that the Cardinals would be off of their pace from the 2018 season due to graduated seniors.

“I knew that they’d probably be a little down from what they were last year with losing Emma Atwood and other seniors,” said Wetzel. “... I knew the their tall middle (Alaina Applegate) was still around and their setter (Maizee Lindsey), so we kind of prepared for those things – keeping it away from them, trying to get them out of the system so they have to push it outside.”

The efforts to keep Applegate and Lindsey as a non-factor worked, as the tall blocker and vocal leader on the floor struggled against the hard hitting Jentry Schafer and quick movements of the Southwest Valley front line.

In the third set a visibly frustrated Cardinals teams was unable to stop the Timberwolves as a Schafter block turned the tide in SWV’s favor at 6-3.

At 16-8, Schafer went up and over the net for a powerful kill that was the metaphorical dagger on a CD team that was starting to get desperate.

The slam was one of two in a 9-0 run to pull the lead to 22-8 in favor of the Timberwovles.

CD showed a second wind, running off five straight points of its own, but SWV put the match to bed on three points of its own for the 25-14 match victory.

Wetzel believes that the heightened success in the final set came from the SWV players seeing the frustration of the CD girls.

“I think it gives them the upper hand,” said Wetzel. “I also think it can have the opposite effect and make you more lackadaisical and not have to work as hard. I want them to keep understanding, to (playing) our level of play, no matter who we’re playing on the other side or what they’re giving us.”

Schafer converted nine kills on 23 attacking attempts and Kayley Myers tallied seven kills. Myers was also nearly perfect on the serve, going 21-23 with one ace.

Wetzel noted that of the things to work on is the team’s serving percentage and working on under pressure situations.

UP NEXT – Southwest Valley is back in action Sept. 10 in Maryville, Missouri.

Southwest Valley 3, Central Decatur 0

Serving (aces) — Kayley Myers 23-21 (1), Jentry Schafer 15-14 (2), Delaney Dalton 11-10 (1), Norah Lund 10-8 (2), Olivia Jacobs 8-7 (2), Isabelle Inman 6-5, Allison Marshall 1-1.

Attacks (kills) — Schafer 23 (9), Myers 22 (7), Marah Larsen 12 (2), Lund 9 (2), Dalton 8 (1), Inman 3 (1), Jacobs 2.

Blocks (solo-assists) — Schafer 2-1, Inman 0-1, Lund 0-1, Myers 1-1.

Setting (assists) —Inman 18, Dalton 3.

Digs — Dalton 7, Myers 4, Schafer 3, Inman 3, Jacobs 3, Marshall 1.