Aberdeen Roncalli overcame a tall order Thursday night at Roncalli Gym.
The Cavaliers found a way through, around, and over a tall Sisseton front line on the way to a 25-15, 25-12, 25-11, Northeast Conference volleyball sweep.
Sisseton posed a bit of a challenge at the net with its height and hitting.
“They have a lot of tall girls, so I knew right away that they were gonna put up a block, that they were going to be hard hitters just from looking at them,” said Roncalli coach Leesa Ware. “We kind of knew what to expect and the girls got it done tonight. I was very happy with them.”
Not only was it tough to get swings past the height of the Sisseton front line, it was just as difficult to block the Redmen’s attack. Roncalli freshman Grace Cogley figured it out and recorded multiple solo blocks.
“Before the game, Coach Leesa went up to me and was like the outsides and the middles really like to go across so give them one or two swings and adjust to that,” Cogley said. “And so that’s what I kind of did and then just play it off of that since they were pretty consistent of where they were going.”
Cogley recorded two kills in the first set, along with five other Cavaliers who each had one kill. Having a wide variety of attackers pays off in more ways than one, and it’s all run through Elyana Roach.
“She’s a great setter, I love her so much. … I think having a good setter is very important, just because you’re able to have someone who can adjust to you and know where you want the ball,” Cogley said. “And one good thing about Elyana is off the court, she’s close with a lot of girls. So, you kind of learn and you get a feeling for everybody, which is really fun.”
Out of the six Cavaliers who recorded a kill in the opening set, four of them are underclassmen, with sophomore Jillian Ellwein leading the way with four.
“It’s really nice to have a young squad. I mean, even looking at, you know I shouldn’t be looking at next year already,” Ware said. “You have to as a coach, you have to look at what the next few years are going to look like and I’m very excited. Just our bench really steps in, and they do such a nice job in there.”
Going into the second set, Roncalli held a 9-2 lead before giving up eight straight points, the only time it did not lead in the match. Sisseton’s Colie Schultz was doing damage from the service line and Ware had a message for her players during a timeout.
“I told them, I said ‘She’s a good server, but our serve receive needs to get it together.’ It just seemed like we couldn’t do anything good on serve receive,” Ware said. “The balls were close to the net, they were in the net, they were shanked. We just couldn’t do anything and they cleaned it up and just went away with it.”
The Cavaliers went on to score 14 straight points, all with the help of Ava Danielson at the service line who put up three aces throughout that time period. The senior used a variety of serves to find success.
“You start getting on that run and then you kind of get a little overconfident in your head and you just don’t wanna mess it up. I felt like I was serving so strong that I just didn’t wanna serve it 15 feet out of bounds or right into the net,” Danielson said. “So, I started getting a little more selective with my serve, switching them up. Getting them short, then going right back to long.”
She not only accounted for three aces during the surge, she scored another point with a kill. The back liner found an opportunity and took it.
“That’s like my second (kill) of the season. … Our setter Elyana, she was kind of off the net and normally that’s a good ball to give to a backrow, change it up a little bit with our swings,” Danielson said. “I just thought let’s call it, see what happens. And I was scared I was gonna miss it, but it was a great ball. I was really proud of myself, and it was a great set by Elyana too, so that helped.”
Going into the last set, Cogley set the tone getting the first point with a block, and then tacking on two more in the closing points to help seal the deal.
“I think it’s really fun because you get to, like I don’t know if stand out is the right word, but everyone gets to cheer for you. Like I love cheering on my friends, but I like to be cheered for,” Cogley said. “I think it’s fun to get that hyped with the whole team, especially everyone just being proud of you and that sort of thing.”
Roncalli will take on two rated teams for its homecoming next week. The Cavaliers face third-rated Class B Warner, and then square off against fourth-rated Class A and unbeaten Clark-Willow Lake.
“We have a very, very tough homecoming week next week. We have Warner on Tuesday and then we have Clark-Willow Lake on Thursday. Both teams are gonna be very strong,” Ware said. “We just have to honestly play good volleyball this next week. We’re just gonna have to make sure that we’re determined, that our momentum is there, and that our heads are right in the game.”
