From the service line to the front row, Wolsey-Wessington came out attacking Thursday night.
The fifth-rated Warbirds used their aggressive strategy to help fuel a 25-16, 25-12, 25-11 non-conference volleyball sweep of Aberdeen Christian at the Christian School Gym.
“That was the goal coming here tonight,” said Wolsey-Wessington coach Lindy Uttecht. “We were playing our game.”
The Warbirds did make some errors of aggression, but they were not about to get cheated on their swings.
“We just wanted to come in here and be aggressive at the net. We wanted to work on hitting the ball hard,” Uttecht said. “We missed quite a few serves tonight, but they’re still serving aggressively, so I can live with that.”
Wolsey-Wessington jumped out in front early in both of the first two sets. The Warbirds consistently pounded serves at the Knights and then were a force at the net, led in part by former Christian player Mallory Miller, who led the visitors with nine kills.
“We kind of expected that, too,” said Christian coach of Wolsey-Wessington’s potent offense. “We knew they had some big hitters. We knew Mallory from last year. We know how she plays. We did our best to be prepared for them, but I think the nerves kind of got the best of (us), too.”
The third set was close with the Warbirds owning a 10-8 lead before going on a 11-1 surge to take control en route to the sweep.
Leah Williams had six aces to lead the Wolsey-Wessington service attack. Mya Boomsma added six kills and six digs, including her 1,000th career dig coming just a few points into the match.
“It’s a pretty cool accomplishment,” said Boomsma who has been a four-year starter.
The senior talked about her mindset of playing in the back row.
“I pretty much just always try to read the defense the best I can,” Boomsma said, “and just never let a ball drop without trying at least first.”
Chloe Bosma and Payton Skarin each had two kills to lead the Knights. Skarin also had nine digs.
Alexis Isakson topped Christian with a dozen digs.
“She just puts herself out there,” Powell said. “She’s just a little thing that really just keeps on going. She played really well defensively.”
The Knights will compete in a tournament at Ipswich on Saturday.
Wolsey-Wessington, 8-2 on the year, will attempt to get better with each match with the goal of reaching the state tournament after coming up one match short last season.
“That definitely is a goal,” Boomsma said. “We just try to do the best we can and focus on what we want to do just to improve every game in whatever way we can.”
Uttecht said making the state tournament is what has driven her players all off season.
“That’s their goal is to get to the state volleyball tournament,” Uttecht said. “We’ve got a senior-heavy team this year. They’re very dedicated to it. They’re very focused. They know what the end goal is.”
Serving: Wolsey-Wessington (Leah William 9-12 6 aces, Roxy Glanzer 2-2 2 aces, Lainey Uttecht 18-19 1 ace); Aberdeen Christian 32-41 2 aces (Natalie Biel 6-6 1 ace, Sophia Fogarty 10-10).
Hitting: Wolsey-Wessington (Mallory Miller 11-13 9 kills, Mya Boomsma 16-18 6 kills); Aberdeen Christian 42-62 8 kills (Payton Skarin 13-16 2 kills, Chloe Bosma 21-25 2 kills).
Setting: Wolsey-Wessington (Taylor Horn 45-45 14 assists); Aberdeen Christian (Jolie Fogarty 64-66 5 assists).
Digs: Wolsey-Wessington (Boomsma 6, Horn 6, Uttecht 6); Aberdeen Christian 55 (Alexis Isakson 12, Skarin 9).
Blocks: Wolsey-Wessington (Kairlynn Dorris 2 solo, Miller 1 solo); Aberdeen Christian 2 assists (Emma Sand 1 assist, Bosma 1 assist).
Records: Wolsey-Wessington 8-2; Aberdeen Christian 0-10.
