March 28, 2024

Timberwolves rally, shock NV

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CORNING — Class 1A No. 8 Southwest Valley recovered from a 2-0 deficit to secure a Pride of Iowa Conference home win against Nodaway Valley Tuesday night.

The Timberwolves (10-4, 3-0 POI) were on the verge of being swept by the Wolverines (8-4, 0-1 POI) after losing the first two sets 25-23 and 25-13 before trailing 17-14 in Set 3. But an 11-3 Southwest Valley rally in the third set changed the momentum in the match, and gave the Timbervolves new life.

“This group of kids is just really resilient because they want to win, and they came back,” Southwest Valley head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “We talked about making adjustments during timeouts, but we didn’t do that very well in Sets 1 and 2. We tried to go to Jentry (Schafer) as much as we could, and she was super effective. Of course we’re going to do that. Kayley (Myers) turned it on in (Sets) 3, 4 and 5. Her connection was (setter) Isabelle (Inman) really wasn’t there in the first two sets, and (Kayley) was getting frustrated with herself.”

Schafer finished with 19 kills on 42 of 47 hitting with seven digs and six blocks. Myers added 13 kills on 32 of 40 hitting, chipped in nine digs and tied Schafer with six blocks.

“We didn’t start off very good, but we had a strong finish,” Schafer said. “In the first two sets, I think we were looking past (Nodaway Valley), and kind of expecting them to give it to us. But they surprised us.

Schafer said the Timberwolves increased the speed of their offense.

“(Coach Wetzel) was telling us (during timeouts) that we had to talk more, and we did. We were doing quicks more, and I think that really helped us,” Schafer added.

A Schafer kill cut the Nodaway Valley lead to 18-17 in the third set before a SWV hitting error pushed it back to a two-point margin. But two kills from Myers and another from Norah Lund made it a 20-19 Timberwolves’ lead.

Myers ended the third set with a tip for a kill, an ace and a block before hitting errors handed Southwest Valley a 25-20 victory.

“It all came down to who wanted it more at the end,” Wolverines head coach Allison Kiburz said. “We started off strong and we knew this game was going to be competitive, possibly one of the toughest games this year. We had to come out ready to play, and we did, but we also knew Southwest Valley is a good team, and they’re not going to quit.”

Corinne Bond (17 kills, 21 of 31 hitting) and Maddax DeVault (10 kills, 19 of 23 hitting) were the primary sources of Nodaway Valley’s offense. Bond sparked a six-point run that knotted the first set at 20 with a kill and a pair of aces before delivering the set-sealing kill in a 25-23 win.

Nodaway Valley scored 10 consecutive points to take a 16-6 lead in the second set en route to a 25-13 thrashing. Along the way, Natalie Yonker served two of her match-high five aces while McKynli Newbury contributed a block and a kill. DeVault had two separate kills that gave the Wolverines a pair of 11-point leads (20-9 and 21-10) before an ace handed NV a 25-13 win.

Wetzel said the matchup in the middle was significant.

“I felt like Jentry or Kayley could hang with Bond, who is their better middle hitter,” Wetzel said. “(Coach Kiburz) started Bond against Jentry, and I thought that was an advantage for us because then we could push (the ball) to Jentry all the time and run that quick tempo stuff. Kayley had a tougher assignment, but we talked about pushing points to Jentry, when she was in the front row.”

A DeVault kill sparked an 8-1 fourth-set rally that featured three kills from Bond and Nodaway Valley used to grab a 23-22 lead. After an error forced a tie, Myers emerged with a pair of kills for a 25-23 SWV win that forced a fifth set.

In Set 5, Schafer broke a 5-all tie with a kill before a Myers kill made it a 7-5 margin. With the Wolverines ahead 8-7, Myers ignited a 7-1 run to seal the match as Schafer ended it with a kill.

UP NEXT — Nodaway Valley completes in the Melcher-Dallas Invitational on Saturday. Southwest Valley hosts East Union and Stanton in a triangular match Monday.

Southwest Valley 3, Nodaway Valley 2

Nodaway Valley statistics

Serving (aces) — Maddux DeVault 13-15 (1), McKynli Newbury 13-13 (0), Natalie Yonker 16-16 (5), Corinne Bond 13-14 (2), Lexi Shike 16-16 (2), Whitney Lamb 6-6 (0). Team — 77-80 (10).

Attacks (kills) — DeVault 19-23 (10), Newbury 20-23 (2), Yonker 1-1 (0), Naomi Daugherty 4-5 (2), Bond 21-31 (17), Shike 17-20 (8), Lamb 8-12 (3). Team — 90-115 (42).

Blocks — Bond 3, Lamb 3, Newbury 2, DeVault 1, Shike 1. Team — 10.

Setting (assists) — Shike 24, Newbury 1. Team — 25.

Digs — Yonker 33, Newbury 21, DeVault 20, Bond 14, Shike 9, Lamb 3, Daugherty 2. Team — 102.

Southwest Valley statistics

Serving (aces) — Delaney Dalton 12-13 (1), Isabelle Inman 16-18 (1), Olivia Jacobs (0), Norah Lund 18-18 (1), Kayley Myers 22-22 (2), Jentry Schafer 15-15 (2). Team — 94-99 (7).

Attacks (kills) — Dalton 14-14 (4), Inman 8-8 (2), Jacobs 3-3 (0), Marah Larsen 17-25 (4), Lund 24-26 (4), Myers 32-40 (13), 42-47 (19). Team — 140-163 (46).

Blocks — Schafer 6, Myers 6, Lund 3, Dalton 2, Lrsen 2, Inman 1. Team — 20.

Setting (assists) — Inman 38, Dalton 3, Jacobs 1. Team — 42.

Digs — Jacobs 15, Inman 14, Myers 9, Schafer 7, Dalton 6, Lund 6, Larsen 4. Team — 61.