ADEL — Woodward-Granger improved to 9-3 overall after their visit to the ADM Invite Thursday.
W-G opened play with a 21-17, 21-18 win over Perry before claiming a 22-20, 21-19 win over host ADM. A 2-1 loss to Norwalk followed, with W-G topping Newton, 2-0, and Knoxville, 2-1, to cap their rotation. Game scores for the final three matches were not available.
“We played pretty well tonight,” W-G head coach Meg Jackson said. “Kara Bodensteiner and Bree Lesch were doing a great job for us on serve receive, but sometimes when something would not go right at the net they maybe started to think too much instead of just relaxing and reacting.
“Any time a team got back into a game it was when we would be in a difficult rotation as far as our serve receive and we struggled to get out of it,” she added. “Some of the problems we are having at the net is when our confidence goes down after a few things go wrong. We can’t let that happen and have to stay aggressive.”
The Hawks lost three starters from last year’s squad and Jackson said she has been pleased with how well the new starters have played so far.
“I mean, we are 9-3, and it is hard to be unhappy about that,” she said. “I think the girls are starting to realize that we can beat some people and I hope that confidence continues. There are going to be down moments — there always are — but how well and how fast you bounce back tells you what kind of team you are.”
Bodensteiner’s 68 total digs led the team, with Lesch making 55 digs and Mary Hansen 30. Olivia McCune’s 44 kills paced the Hawks, with Hansen adding 32 kills and Lesch 31.
Alyssa Bice provided 67 assists and Hansen 40, with Julie Pitman making five blocks and McCune two.
McCune was 38-of-40 serving with nine aces, with Kaycee Major 40-42-8, Lesch 34-37-4 and Hansen 32-40-11.
