Spikers drop final two matches to end season

Ken Roberts

For The New Era

Sweet Home finished off its volleyball seasons with two losses, first at Newport and then at home against Central.

The Huskies closed the year out with a 2-10 record in league, good for fourth place.

Sweet Home opened strong against Newport in the first game, swapping leads with the Cubs throughout.

A left-handed soft kill by Kami Walker put the Huskies on top 21-18, their biggest lead all night. Kayla Thompson’s kill right on the back line kept Sweet Home in the lead at 23-21, but the Huskies made critical errors at the end, including a long serve and two passing errors to allow Newport to escape with a 25-23 victory.

In the second game, Newport kept the Huskies at bay the whole game. The Cubs finished out with a couple of aces and two kills, enroute to a 25-16 win. A slow Sweet Home start allowed Newport to build an early five-point deficit. The Cubs maintained that margin to end the match in a convincing fashion, 25-20.

On senior night, celebrating the final participation of eight Huskies, it took Sweet Home awhile to get started.

Central used seven kills plus a number of other strong plays at the net to demolish the Huskies 25-11 in the opener. Sweet Home fought back in the second game as Central struggled with their defense. With a 6-1 lead, the Huskies let the Panthers back in the game despite many long rallies that usually ended up in favor of Central.

Still Sweet Home led 19-18 before they collapsed under the Panthers superior net play and strong service that gave Central six straight points at the end and ultimately a 25-20 win.

The Panthers went on to dominate the final game 25-16 with nine kills to the Huskies’ six and fewer unforced errors.

Coach Debbie Danielson, noting that it is hard to keep morale up when there was nothing to play for in the final matches, still thought that the Huskies gave a valiant effort at the end. She thought the team put hustled to produce a number of great rallies, as well as pursuing balls that seemed lost and finishing better on three ball hits.

“We didn’t just lay down,” stated Danielson. “It’s always good to end strong wanting to put up a good fight.”

The year didn’t go as well as some expected.

“I thought we were going to be a lot better,” said Thompson, primarily a right-side hitter, who felt that the team effort was not as good as it could have been. “The last couple of games our team bonded a lot more. That”s what helped us out at the end to try to get some wins.”

Walker, a middle blocker, also saw some improvement in the final matches but felt they needed to be more focused as a team.

“We needed to do better in practices and have the attitude of wanting to be there,” Walker stated.

The Huskies lose eight seniors off their twelve person roster. Three-year starter, Michelle Cliver, the libero of the Huskies, played in her final game along with defensive specialist Erika Snow. Two-year starters include the leading outside hitter Sara Brocard and setter Julie Burcham as well as two year all around player Bre Messmer.

Tabby Trahan, Walker, and Thompson all played varsity ball for one year.

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