GUTHRIE CENTER — For the second consecutive year — and fourth of the last five — the Woodward-Granger volleyball team has blown through the West Central Conference undefeated.
W-G (23-8, 8-0) achieved the triumph with a 3-0 sweep of Guthrie Center (11-11, 3-5) behind wins on 25-13, 25-11 and 25-11.
The Hawks were 9-0 in both 2011 and 2012 in the WCC before slipping to 6-2 in 2013. They are 8-0 over each of the last two years and have been so dominant (40-2 in the span) that the only set they have dropped in conference play as a 25-18 game one loss to Earlham Tuesday.
“When I started we were the team doing the chasing and trying to finish second or third,” 14-year head coach Meg Jackson said. “It is much nicer to be the team being chased.”
When asked, Jackson admitted that the sustained string of success can, at times, leave her team flat.
“I try to give the girls some bigger challenges, like not losing a set or allowing only so many points,” she said. “We know everyone is gunning for us every night, so that alone is usually enough to keep us on our toes.”
The success of the program extends to the junior varsity and freshmen ranks. The W-G JV fell to West Central Valley in their first match but then ran off seven straight wins to finish 7-1 in WCC play while the freshman squad was 7-0-1, with their match against Van Meter stopped by a time limit, resulting in the tie.
As for the varsity, Olivia McCune led W-G Thursday with 16 kills, with Bree Lesch adding nine kills and Mary Hansen five while Alissa Smeltzer contributed two. Hansen and Alyssa Bice had 14 assists apiece and Riley Kirton four, with Julie Pitman and Anna Nelson having two blocks apiece and McCune one.
Kirton served 20-of-20 with five aces, with Lesch 16-18-1, McCune 13-13-1, Hansen 6-8-5 and Kaycee Major 7-of-7 and Kara Bodensteiner 6-of-6.
Libero player Bodensteiner paced the defense with 14 digs, with Lesch adding 13 digs and McCune seven.
W-G concludes their regular season by hosting the Norm McCune Invitational Saturday. Action will begin at 8:30 a.m.
