Panthers upset Southwest Valley

The Creston volleyball team bounced back from a pair of hard-fought losses by upsetting Class 1A No. 8 Southwest Valley 3-1 at home Thursday night.

The 1-2 Panthers dropped their first two matches this season in five sets on the road against ADM and Clarinda before bringing an intensity that allowed Creston to win the first two sets against the 3-2 Timberwolves 25-21 and 25-22.

“You know our kids have been battling hard, especially after losing two games in five (sets),” Panthers head coach Traci Haley said. “(Our kids) were ready to go, ready to win and we dug in deep and got that win.

“We seemed to have (intensity) in Sets 1 and 2, but in (Set) 3 we tend to ease up. We have to learn how to keep that intensity to continue through,” Haley said. “(The players) do everything I ask, and I asked them to dig in (during Set 4) because this was our game. They dug in and took care of business for us.”

Kelsey Fields delivered a match-high 18 kills for the Panthers, who received 11 kills and a match-high seven blocks from Emma Hanson.

“The matchup in the middle was big. I think we slowed (Kelsey) down enough to get touches on that block,” Southwest Valley head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “I think Emma Hanson hurt us more than Kelsey did.”

Hanson said she was challenged by Timberwolves middle hitter, who supplied team highs in kills (15) and blocks (six).

“(Jentry Schafer) is a great hitter. Coach (Haley) told us to go up when she goes up because she runs those quick (hits) really fast. We needed to get our hands on the ball,” Hanson said.

Haley said both of Creston’s middle hitters were effective.

“(The matchup in the middle) was pretty important. I needed Kelsey to get some hands on that ball, and she did that along with Emma,” Haley said. “They both did a good job of getting hands on that ball.”

Southwest Valley led 21-20 in the first set before the Panthers rallied with the final five points, backed by kills from Hanson and Ryli Abildtrup.

Creston emerged with a 2-0 lead in sets by taking control late in the second game. Fields made a block for a 24-22 Panthers’ lead before Rylie Driskell’s ace sealed it.

“Our intensity was really high (at the beginning),” Hanson said. We were ready to come out and play, but, in that third set we got behind a little bit. We were able to make a comeback in that fourth set.”

Wetzel said Southwest Valley needs to avoid slow starts.

“It has been just the way we start (our matches). We have been flat, not very excited and we need to find a new way of what we do before a match so that we’re ready for that match. We start off too slow,” Wetzel said. “(Our players) got the wrath of Coach Wetzel in between those sets. They know me well, and I don’t sugarcoat a whole lot. I let them know they are better than that and that we needed to stay aggressive on offense.”

The Timberwolves battled themselves back into the match with a 25-18 third-set win. Kayley Meyers (eight kills, three aces) used back-to-back kills to give SWV a 13-6 lead before she served two straight aces for a 19-16 Southwest Valley lead. Two more kills from Meyers made it 23-18 and, after a net violation, Schafer dropped in an ace to end it.

SWV built a 15-10 lead in Set 4 on a kill from Norah Lund, but Creston scored six of the next seven points to tie it at 16 on a Timberwolves’ hitting error. The Panthers went ahead 21-18 on an ace from Peyton Rice before Southwest Valley’s offense broke down after a pair of hitting violations.

Fields closed out the Panthers’ victory with kills on three of the final four points.

“We had to keep fighting back by trusting ourselves, trusting our hitters and trusting our back row,” Hanson said. “It’s kind of tough to come back, but we never give up.”

Wetzel said Hanson was also a factor from the serving line.

“We didn’t stay aggressive and we didn’t play smart (in the fourth set), Wetzel said. “We were not moving our feet as well (as earlier in the match). We started looking at each other as to who was going to take the ball instead of just going after it. Then when Hanson was serving, she would serve five or six in a row that we couldn’t get a sideout. That’s something we need to focus on going forward.”

UP NEXT — Creston play at the Shenandoah Invitational at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Southwest Valley plays at the Griswold Invitational at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Creston 3, Southwest Valley 1

Southwest Valley statistics

Serving (aces) — Delaney Dalton 20-21 (5), Kayley Myers 16-16 (2), Olivia Jacobs 14-15 (2), Norah Lund 13-15 (2), Jentry Schafer 12-15 (1), Isabelle Inman 8-9, Marah Larsen 1-1. Team — 84-92 (12).

Attacks (kills) — Schafer 27-30 (15), Myers 23-25 (8), Lund 9-9 (5), Larsen 13-19 (5), Dalton 12-12 (2), Jacobs 3-3. Team — 87-98 (35).

Blocks — Schafer 6, Larsen 3, Dalton 1, Inman 1, Lund 1. Team — 12.

Setting (assists) — Inman (33), Schafer (1). Team — 34.

Digs — Dalton 12, Schafer 8, Lund 6, Inman 6, Jacobs 5, Myers 3. Team — 40.

Creston statistics

Serving (aces) — Rylie Driskell 16-16 (3), Ryli Abildtrup 15-17 (3), MaKenna Hudson 23-23 (2), Peyton Rice 14-15 (1), Samantha Dunphy 10-10 (1), Emma Hanson 10-10. Team — 88-91 (10).

Attacks (kills) — Kelsey Fields 26-29 (18), Hanson 17-21 (11), Abildtrup 17-23 (5), Dunphy 13-20 (4), Abbi Hood 14-16 (4), Driskell 2-3 (1), Hudson 1-4, Rice 1-1. Team — 91-117 (43).

Blocks — Hanson 7, Hood 6, Fields 5, Dunphy 3, Abildtrup 2, Driskell 2. Team — 25.

Setting (assists) — Driskell 72-82 (38), Hudson (2), Hanson (1). Team — (41).

Digs — Hudson 14, Rice 6, Driskell 6, Abildtrup 4, Dunphy 3, Frey 2, Hood 1. Team — 36.

Junior Varsity

Southwest Valley (2) 25-19-15, Creston (1) 17-25-8

Creston statistics — Maddie Frey: 8 digs. Kaci Abildtrup: 8 digs, 6-7 serve receive. Halle Evans: 45-48 setting, 15 assists. Kaci Abildtrup: 4 blocks. Bri Fields: 7-8 hitting, 5 kills. Hannah Dryden 6-8 hitting, 4 kills.

Freshmen

Creston (2) 25-22-13, Southwest Valley (1) 11-25-11

Creston statistics — Jacy Kralik 10-11, 8 points, 3 kills. Caitlin Bruce 12-12, 9 points. Brooklyn McKinney 8-8, 5 points. Harlee Flynn 8-8, 6 points. Aleah Calvin 4 kills.