Stanton sweeps Villisca in Corner showdown
STANTON — In what will be one of the many final match-ups between Stanton and Villisca this season, it was the Viqueens who got the last word in a sweep of the Blue Jays in their final regular-season match-up last Tuesday.
Stanton dominated from the opening serve, defeating Villisca 25-16, 25-17 and 25-15.
Villisca begins a whole-grade sharing agreement with Corning, starting in 2013-14. The two schools will become known as Southwest Valley.
Stanton dictated control of the match last Tuesday, going on big runs at times to score the sweep.
“They’re just solid, they hit the ball, they play good defense and they don’t give you a lot of opportunities to hit hard back at them because you’re always back on your heels,” Villisca Volleyball Head Coach Jim Obermeier said.
With their backs against the wall, the Blue Jays stayed close early with Stanton and was able to trim the lead in the third game, but it wasn’t enough.
“I just think they were getting the ball set up and finding our open spots on the floor and they were hitting the ball to us,” Stanton Head Volleyball Coach Jody Druivenga said. “They came with a lot of passion tonight and it really showed.”
Carmen Subbert and Rachel Sorensen provided a solid offensive output, recording 22 of the Viqueens 30 kills for the match. Subbert led the team with 12 kills, while Sorensen had 10.
“Both Rachel and Carmen do an outstanding job,” Druivenga said. “They both are not afraid to hit and even if they’ve made a couple of errors along the way, they stick right with it and keep swinging away.”
Subbert was also the team leader in digs, finishing with 14.
Stanton had much success from their middle hitters. Erin DeKay and Kara Allen each recorded three solo blocks.
“They played well tonight, got some blocks, really happy with what I saw from them tonight,” Druivenga said about her middle hitters.
In assists, Roey Sink led with 16, while Ragen Anderson recorded 12.
For Villisca, Amanda Focht led the team with 12 kills out of 28 attack attempts, adding nine digs and three blocks. No other Blue Jay had double-digit kills.
Jill Vanderhoof had three kills, but served for much of the match, serving 14-of-15 successfully with three aces. Morganne Haer finished with 13 assists to lead the Blue Jays.
Obermeier said aggressive serving and putting pressure on Stanton really helped them in the third game.
“Hopefully they can see that we got some work to do in order for us to be gearing up to compete with Stanton in the conference race,” Obermeier said.
While this is the final scheduled match, the two teams have an opportunity to face each other a couple more times, including at the Corner Conference Tournament and regional tournaments.
Both teams competed at the Bedford Tournament Saturday as Stanton won the tournament title. They didn’t face each other though.
Stanton 3, Heartland Christian 0
The Viqueens dispatched Heartland Christian in Council Bluffs last Thursday, 25-10, 25-6 and 25-7. Sorensen led the way with six kills, while Subbert had six.
Stanton 3, Corning 0
The Viqueens also secured the sweep against Corning, last Monday. They defeated the Red Raiders 25-10, 25-16 and 25-10 at home.
Stanton had nine total blocks for the match, with Roey Sink responsible for three of them.
Villisca 3, Clarinda Academy 0
Villisca recovered from Stanton by defeating Clarinda Academy last Thursday, 25-2, 25-7 and 25-6. Focht’s 10 kills led the way for the Blue Jays. Mikayla Dolch had eight kills, while Haer had 14 assists.
Villisca recorded 31 serving aces in the match, with Haer responsible for eight of them. Vanderhoof had five serving aces, while Focht, Kelsey Means and Bree Ann Fisher each had four.