Aberdeen Christian had to break one streak to help extend another Monday night.
The Knights watched Webster score a streak of eight unanswered points to start the match before rebounding to record their fifth straight sweep with a 25-20, 25-14, 25-20 non-conference volleyball victory at the Christian School Gym.
Following that rough start, Christian coach Sally Stoebner called a timeout to send a message to her players.
“I just told them, the game has started and we need to take a deep breath. We have to go out there now and we have to work just a little bit harder,” Stoebner said. “I felt like our passing really shaped up in the first set which allowed us to … we just played confidently.”
The Knights turned the momentum around with a couple of surges of their own, scoring six points in a row, before Sawyer Schwan put the squad in front to stay serving seven points in a row for an 18-11 advantage.
“And it all started with Sawyer at the service line,” Stoebner said. “What’s crazy awesome about volleyball is you get to see a new server every time, but once you get down, and we’re an example of it too, once you get down, you start to make mistakes and you get a little bit cautious.”
While the Bearcats never went away, they were never the same after that momentum switch.
“When you play a good team like Aberdeen Christian, if they get a few points they’re going to keep getting points, and you can’t have that,” said Webster coach Emily Wagner. “It’s even harder to battle back after it’s been multiple points rather than just one.”
In a matchup between teams with similar records, getting off to a quick start figured to be a key.
“We knew it was going to be a close game. Our records are close,” said Webster’s Mallory Steiner. “We knew we were going to have to fight hard. Able to get ahead and the lead with our serves it really started us off on the game, and then we kind of dug a hole.”
Steiner was serving when the Bearcats were able to establish the early momentum.
“I try to mix it up from short to deep,” Steiner said of her serving strategy, “whatever coach gave me a number to serve at, I tried to hit her spot and it seemed to work pretty well.”
However, that was short lived as Schwan began rocketing serves all over the floor to give her team the momentum which it never lost.
“I’ve been working extra hard in practice during serving; it really paid off tonight,” Schwan said.
The Christian setter also orchestrated the Knights offense, finishing with 33 set assists. Schwan went to a variety of hitters who consistently spotted holes in the Webster defense.
“If there’s chaos on one side of the court, I’ll just switch sides to flip the momentum on the other side,” Schwan said, “or I’ll just give it to whoever can just put the ball down right away and give us the point.”
Arianna Johnson and Jolie Fogarty both finished with 15 kills en route to the victory. Having multiple hitters puts extra stress on defenses.
“With having multiple hitters you have to be aware of at the net, definitely gets them more opportunities,” Wagner said.
In the end, it was Christian’s service attack that set the whole process in motion, putting the Bearcats on their heels and allowing the Knights to run their offense.
“We work on serve receive in practice every day, especially before a game like this,” Steiner said, “and I feel like that’s a big key role in the game. If you can’t get a pass in, you can’t get a kill.”
The trio of Schwan, Fogarty, and Payton Skarin combined for 11 aces for the Knights.
“Sawyer served lights out,” Stoebner said. “I think she’s been getting better all season with her serve, just getting more consistent. … I thought all of our servers from the service line were awesome.”
The Knights improved to 13-8 with the win over their Class A opponent, while Webster slipped to 11-9.
Schwan said she doesn’t pay attention to things like class during the match.
“We don’t really focus on what class they are and stuff,” Schwan said, “we just try to focus on one game at a time no matter who they are and try to win.”
The Bearcats and the Knights both have two matches remaining this week as the postseason is fast closing in.
“They are big ones,” Wagner said. “Every game is a big game here at the end of the season for sure.”
The Knights host Ipswich, 20-5, this evening in what will likely feature a playoff-type atmosphere.
“I’m really excited and hopefully our girls are really excited,” Stoebner said. “I hope they go in with some confidence (Tuesday) after having five straight.”
Serving: Aberdeen Christian (Payton Skarin 5 aces, Sawyer Schwan 3 aces, Jolie Fogarty 3 aces).
Hitting: Aberdeen Christian (Arianna Johnson 15 kills, Fogarty 15 kills, Reagan Jett 5 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Christian (Schwan 33 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Christian (Alexis Isakson 13, Sophia Eichler 13, Fogarty 10).
Blocks: Aberdeen Christian (Jett 2, Eichler 2).
Records: Webster 11-9; Aberdeen Christian 13-8.
Webster stats not available
