Lady Wolverines play tough in loss to Melba

The Lady Wolverines hosted the visiting Melba Mustangs last week in a non-conference pairing.  
 What began as a rough showing for the Wolverines, turned into a barn burner in the third set, resulting in a 5-set match.  The Lady Wolverines battled to the very end, but unfortunately came up short, losing 18-25, 18-25, 25-21, 26-24 and 14-16.
 The Wolverines struggled from the very beginning of the first set and quickly found themselves trailing 0-5 before head coach Lindsay Grant called a time-out to regroup.  The break in play enabled sophomore Tobie Noyer to come back with a kill, getting the Wolverines on the board. Emma Tolman placed a tip on the sideline for a kill, but a hit out-of-bounds put the Mustangs back in control.  
 The Wolverines had difficulty with communication and some hard Mustang kills, and the Mustangs were able to increase their lead 2-10 before a hard kill by Whitney Cordes stopped the surge.  
 An ace serve by senior libero, Macey Buescher, was helpful, but the real shift on the scoreboard came from the hard floating serves of Cordes.  
 At the 4-11 mark, Cordes stepped back to serve and she helped to pull the Wolverines within 2-points at 9-11. Unfortunately, the Wolverines reverted to their lack of focus play and the Mustangs pulled ahead again 13-20.  The Wolverines were unable to gain the momentum necessary to take the first set from the Mustangs and lost the set 18-25.
 The second set of the match began with the Wolverines playing much better defensively. Long rallies, ace serves and well-placed tips kept them battling for every point, but the tables turned at the 5-5 point and  a series of passing, coverage and service errors by the Wolverines led to them trailing the Mustangs 7-13.  
 Noyer and Mattie Shirts collaborated on an impressive stuff block, which seemed to invigorate the Wolverine squad. Shirts rotated back to serve and with the assistance of a kill by senior, Reagan Doty, and a pair of Mustang errors, the Wolverines pulled within 2-points to 11-13.  
 The Wolverines continued through the remainder of the set with a roller coaster of ups and downs in their momentum.  Noyer recorded a stunning slide kit for the kill of the Mustang block and both Tolman and Doty had a kill apiece, but difficulties on serve receive, timing on the hits and out-of-bounds hits allowed the Mustangs to take the second set 25-18.
 The Wolverines faced a sweep scenario for the Mustangs if they didn’t up their play in the third set and they started out strong, matching the Mustangs point-for-point to the 7-7 mark, but the frustration was visible on the Wolverine side of the court when mental mistakes allowed the Mustangs to go on a 7-1 scoring run and taking the lead 8-14 over the Wolverines.  
 The Wolverines trailed 15-20 when a kill by Doty began a surge by the Wolverines that was inspiring. Doty added another kill to her credit and aided in a stuff block with Noyer and a comeback was set in motion.  
 Freshman setter, Danica Lockett, began serving for the Wolverines and with the help of a focused and determined group of teammates, Lockett served the Wolverines to a 24-20 lead.  During her service tenure, Lockett had one ace serve while Noyer had a perfectly executed kill off a quick set and a pair of tip kills. Noyer and Cordes also worked together for a stuff block.  
 The Mustangs had one more opportunity to score off a kill, but a service violation gave the Wolverines the third set win, 25-21.
 During the come from behind third set win, the Wolverines transformed from a group of volleyball players into a cohesive team that trusted each other to make the play.  
 The momentum from the win carried into the fourth set and the Wolverines led to the 10-8 point.  A string of serve receive and ball handling problems let the Mustangs take the lead 10-15, but a kill from Doty halted the streak.  
 The Wolverines battled for every point, trading points with the Mustangs to the 20-22 mark, when a tip kill from Doty shifted the momentum. Lockett began serving again and throughout a very long rally, the Wolverines stayed calm and focused and won the point.  
 Doty followed it up with a kill down the line, which resulted in a Mustang time-out and an eruption of cheers from the Wolverine fans.
 Tied at 24-24, during an extended rally, Lockett realized the Mustang defense had shifted to the front of the court, leaving a huge coverage gap in the back court where she sent a deep, sneaky set on the second contact for the point. The Wolverines took the set 26-24 with an out-of-bounds Mustang hit.
 The fifth and final set looked like it was going to be all Wolverines from the start. Cordes began with a nice kill and Buescher served for 4-points, with two aces. Cordes also added an ace serve, and the Wolverines were in the lead 8-3. Unfortunately, the Wolverines slipped into a rough patch and allowed the Mustangs to catch up and take the lead 10-8.  
 The Wolverines battled back to tie the set 14-14, but a Wolverine error and a blocked hit caused the Lady Wolverines to drop the fifth set 14-16 and the match 2-3.
 The junior varsity team swept the Mustangs in straight sets, 25-17 and 25-22.  
 The frosh/soph squad was not as successful, losing in two sets, 15-25 and 18-25.