Weiser rematch with New Plymouth goes five sets

The Lady Wolverines traveled to New Plymouth High School, the home of the Lady Pilgrims, last week for a rematch of the previous week.  

 In their earlier pairing, the Wolverines made light work of the Pilgrims, sweeping the match in three sets.  

 However, one of the Wolverine setters, Ciana Fuller, was out with an ankle injury, forcing the Wolverines to change up their rotation and their defense. The change caused some confusion periodically, coupled with the fact the Pilgrims stepped up their play on their home court, the match went to five sets.  

 The Wolverines got off to a strong start in the first set, capitalizing on a trio of Pilgrim errors to take a 3-0 lead, but the Pilgrims rallied back with the hard serves of Nicole Binggeli to take the lead 7-6 over the Weiser team.  

 Reagan Doty stopped the serving surge with a kill off a quick set in the middle, and placing Bella Strasser behind the service line.  An ace serve and a long rally culminating in a Sara Lundberg kill pulled the Wolverines ahead 9-7, but the Pilgrims were not giving up.  

 The Wolverines and the Pilgrims traded points throughout the remainder of the set, with neither team ever leading by more than two points. With the set tied 23-23, the Wolverines suffered a series of ball handling errors, and despite a kill by Grace Soulen, the Wolverines were unable to come out on top, losing the first set 25-27.

 Once again the Wolverines and the Pilgrims traded points from errors to the 4-4 point.  Strasser pulled the Wolverines ahead 6-4 and the Wolverines managed to maintain a 2 to 3 point lead until the 17-14 mark when setter, Macy Beuscher, began serving.  

 Beuscher began with an ace, and despite a little too much power on her second serve, Beuscher came up big with a perfect pancake save, fooling the Pilgrims into a premature side-out celebration and Hailey Pearson caught them all unaware with a kill.  The play energized the Wolverines, and they went on a 6-3 scoring run to take the second set 25-18.

 The third set was another close battle to the very end, with neither team ever able to get more than a 3-point advantage. The Wolverines did not help their cause, however, with a pair of substitution errors as a result of their new rotation that resulted in some chaotic play until the Wolverine squad regrouped and regained their focus.  

 Despite the periodic confusion and a substitution error at a critical 24-23 juncture, the Lady Wolverines rallied back with a tip kill by Strasser and a beautiful slide by Doty for the kill and the set 26-24.

 The fourth set was another barn-burner possession and lead changes throughout the set.  The Wolverines had a slim lead at 14-13 with Beuscher back to serve, but a dribbling tip off the tape for the Pilgrims gave them the momentum they needed to take the lead and remain there for the duration, snatching the fourth set from the Wolverines 25-20.

 Fifth sets to 15 are often the kryptonite to many teams, and tie-breaker sets tend to not only be a physical competition but equally mental.  The lady Pilgrims were granted the first serve, and squandered their opportunity with a long, out-of-bounds serve.  

 Strasser began serving for the Wolverines, serving two aces and scoring one-third of the requisite points and taking the lead 5-0. Unfortunately, the Wolverines faltered momentarily and a series of miscues allowed the Pilgrims back into the set 5-4 before Lundberg stopped their surge with a kill. 

 Neither team was willing to concede the set and ultimately the match, resulting in several long and exciting rallies. The Wolverines fell behind 6-10, but a New Plymouth error opened the door for the Wolverines, putting Lundberg back to serve.  

 A block by Pearson and LynnZ Rasmussen, a tip to the deep corner by Beuscher and a kill by Soulen kept Lundberg behind the line and tied the set 10-10, but the Wolverines just couldn’t maintain the momentum and the Pilgrims took the fifth set 15-12 and the match 3-2.