WOODWARD — The Woodward-Granger volleyball team topped visiting Earlham, 3-1, Tuesday in West Central Conference action.
The big news from the match? A 25-18 game one win for the Cardinals, representing the first time W-G has dropped a set in WCC play in over two years.
“We just came out a little flat, got down and then could not finish,” W-G head coach Meg Jackson said. “We got ourselves together before the second game and started to play better. Kara (Bodensteiner) and Kaycee (Major), our two defensive specialists, played very well and kept talking on the court and got us back into our offensive rhythm. Once that happened things fell into place.”
The guests, no doubt motivated by an unexpected win in the first game, continued to play well through the second game but could not overcome a resurgent W-G squad that posted a 25-15 win.
W-G restored order with a 25-9 win in game three, then put the match away with a 25-11 win in game four. Twenty ace serves helped fuel the rally, with junior Bree Lesch climbing to within 10 aces of the W-G career mark for ace serves after finishing 10-11-2 behind the line.
Olivia McCune also continued her quest for a school record, as her three blocks brought the junior to within 14 rejections of the W-G career standard.
Major was 20-21-6 serving, Bodensteiner 13-14-2, Riley Kirton 13-15-3 and Mary Hansen 18-19-7. Hansen and Alyssa Bice had 20 assists apiece, with Bice joining Julie Pitman in making two blocks each while Anna Nelson tallied three blocks and Lesch and senior Mikayla Saak one block apiece.
Bodensteiner had 21 digs, Lesch 15 and Major 12, with Hansen recording 15 kills, Lesch and Pitman 10 kills apiece and McCune nine kills.
Earlham fell to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in WCC play with the loss while W-G increased their mark to 22-8, 7-0. The Hawks have won nine of their last 10 matches, dropping just five games along the way.
W-G will visit Guthrie Center Thursday before hosting the Norm McCune Invitational Saturday to conclude their regular season.
