Backed into a corner twice last week, the Husky volleyball team came up short against Philomath on Tuesday then squeaked by Toledo on Thursday.
Philomath defeated the Huskies 26-24, 25-19 and 25-23.
“The girls played well,” Coach Heide Nichol said. “They just didn’t play the last few points tough enough to get the win.”
Coach Nichol was happy with the improvements they showed during that game. The Huskies’ passing was better. Their transition was better, and it was a close match that could have gone either way.
Serving, Teresa Lewis led the Huskies going 13-15 with four aces. Katie Reynolds served 11-11 with four aces.
Missed serves are especially a problem under the new rally scoring, Coach Nichol said. The Huskies missed 12 serves overall, and each one of those now represents a point for the opponent.
Lewis set 41-51. Hitting, Lisa Brocard was 14-17 with six kills. Ashley Smith was 8-8 with one kill. Ashley Horn was 12-14 with one kill.
The Huskies didn’t block well in the game, Coach Nichol said. They came up with five overall.
Against Toledo, “we played a good game,” Coach Nichol said. “We pulled out some close wins, which was good for us.”
The Huskies won 25-14, 25-23 and 25-22.
“It was exciting to see the girls dig deep and finish those close games,” Coach Nichol said.
After a decisive game to start the match, the Huskies found themselves fighting for the close wins in the second two.
“I think we tend after initially being really excited, to stop talking so much,” Coach Nichol said. Communication is important on the court and a lack of communication works against a team.
Serving, Lewis was 24-25 with seven aces. Lei Himan-Teves and Nicki Emmert were each 13-14 with three aces.
Brocard was 9-10 in serve receives, Coach Nichol said. That is the kind of performance she wants to see throughout the team. That statistic shows a good pass to a target. With a 90-percent performance from Lewis and 70-percent from Emmert on setting, the Huskies were on target most of the night for hitters.
Horn and Brocard were 11-17 and Reynolds was 7-11 in digs.
Brocard was 17-24 hitting. Elissa McCartin was 10-13 hitting with three kills and four blocks.
Ashley Smith was 7-7 hitting with four blocks. Horn added nine blocks, and Susie Sieg added two.
‘They stepped up their game” facing Toledo, Coach Nichol said. “With young teams, you see the improvement from one game to the next.”