Mississinawa Valley senior Makenna Guillozet is one of many Blackhawks to have a successful day at the serving line.
Photos by Drew Terhall | The Daily Advocate
Junior Allie Muhlenkamp was a part of the attacking front line that helped keep the match close.
The Mississinawa Valley student section was vocal in their support for the home team.
By Drew Terhall
DailyAdvocate.com
UNION CITY — The Mississinawa Valley volleyball team won a hard-fought match at home over Franklin Monroe, 3-0, on Sept. 7.
It was a close match from the start as both teams kept it a close first set. The teams exchanged points until the Lady Jets went on a late run to get a lead.
The Lady Blackhawks didn’t stop fighting, even when the Lady Jets were up 23-19 and would eventually only need one more point to win the set.
The serving from the Lady Blackhawks helped tie the game at 24-24 and then eventually got them a 26-24 win in set one. Head coach Nancy Whitted said the team talked about their mentality at practice yesterday. The team would make a few mistakes, get down on themselves and it would take awhile to bring them back up.
She said they did some movement drills and went after it at practice to help change their mentality. That work paid off in this match.
“I think that really helped today. Everybody was on their game. That’s what it takes to beat a team like Franklin Monroe. Was really happy about that,” Whitted said.
The momentum carried in the second set as Mississinawa Valley grabbed an early 17-12 lead. Franklin Monroe was playing well, they just had some small mistakes that snowballed a little bit.
After a Franklin Monroe timeout, the Lady Jets fought back and were only a point or two away from Mississinawa Valley. The front line was able to hit their spots and the serving helped Franklin Monroe stay in the second set.
But, the Lady Blackhakws used their serving once again to help get them a set win as they won set two, 25-23. Whitted said the team as a whole had some great serves and was happy with their performance from the serving line.
It was another battle in the third set as the Lady Jets had an early advantage. Since that timeout in the second set, the Lady Jets seemed to have calmed down and played cleaner volleyball. The team played great defense and moved the ball well.
Franklin Monroe head coach Angie Filbrun said Mississinawa Valley came out and played a great game. The Lady Blackhawks and the Lady Jets went back and forth all match long.
Late in the set, Mississinawa Valley fought back to take the lead for a brief moment before Franklin Monroe regained the lead at 20-19.
Like they did all match long, the serving gave Mississinawa Valley the edge they needed to score six straight points for the 25-20 set win and to complete the sweep.
Whitted said with a win like this under their belt, it helps show how good this Lady Blackhawks team can be.
“I see WOAC championship. I see that. There’s definitely a chance we can win that. We can go far in the Division tournament. I just see a lot of great things. I expect it and they expect it too,” Whitted said.
Mississinawa Valley is now 4-3 on the season with a 3-0 WOAC record. After hosting a volleyball invitational on Sept. 9, the team will travel to National Trail on Sept. 12.
Franklin Monroe is now 7-3 with a 2-1 WOAC record. After a conference match with Newton, they will host Preble Shawnee on Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]
