Communication and trust scores girls’ volleyball a spot in the regional finals

Middle+hitters+Jessical+Williams+%28%234%29+and+Nicole+Amrhein+%28%2313%29+go+in+for+a+block+against+a+hit+made+by+Waubonsie.+

Autumn Zayas

Middle hitters Jessical Williams (#4) and Nicole Amrhein (#13) go in for a block against a hit made by Waubonsie.

Grace Cronin, Sports Reporter

The girls’ volleyball team faced off their rival, Waubonsie Warriors, for the third time this season last Tuesday. The Mustangs came out on top in this semi-regional match in a dominating two set game with a score of 25-17 in the first match and 25-14 in the second. This win followed the achievement of conference champions for the Mustangs as they ended 10-0.

“We are confident and came out to settle everything down,” head coach Dave MacDonald said. “We got the outcome that we wanted.”

The first set started off rocky and slow for the girls as nerves got to them; however, teamwork between the girls allowed them to push through and secure some great outside hits and blocks. Junior outside hitter Kira Hutson stepped up during this game with a great match at the net blocking many of the Warriors’ hits. 

“We got in our heads the first set, but we came together as a team and trusted each other to do our positions, and came back,” senior middle Jessica Williams said.

Between the first and second set, the support from the crowd shined through with Mustangs chanting cheers and competing against Waubonsie on who could be the loudest. This boost of morale was seen in the second set for the girls. They started off with some tight scores between the two teams, however, their communication peaked creating perfect sets between each other. Ultimately, pushing them to bring home the win and move them into the finals for regionals.

“We have a lot of trust in each other and communicate really well,” Williams said. “I think we did that well tonight.”

The girls ended this game ready for their regional game against Oswego, the winner of the match against Batavia. Coming out strong and creating more consistent serving will allow the girls to thrive in their next match, for these were the greatest struggles seen today. 

“We are always working on something, always getting prepared for the next match and for Oswego and Batavia,” Dave MacDonald said. “We are going to watch and scout them to have a game plan going in. It is just having confidence and knocking those nerves out.”

The Mustangs next game is against Oswego this Thursday.