It may not have been the straightest path to victory, but the Aberdeen Christian Knights still navigated the course and finished with its seventh consecutive volleyball win Friday night.
Christian overcame a nine-point deficit in a crucial third set and eventually finished off Ellendale 25-17, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16 in non-conference action at the Christian School Gym.
After splitting the first two sets, the Cardinals appeared to have all the momentum in the third after bolting out to a 14-5 advantage.
“They did have it. They had it all in the second set,” said Christian coach Sally Stoebner. “I’m glad that my girls were able to come together as a team and just dig.”
Christian senior Ashley Wysk, who got the start on Senior Night, was still a key member of a vocal bench that she believed made a difference in the match.
“If the bench is positive about it, the players are going to be more positive,” Wysk said, “because I’ve been in situations, where if the bench is like oh, we’re going to lose, the players think that, too, because that’s what we’re sending out onto the court. We’re sending out vibes to them, they’re not sending vibes to us.”
Wysk also made an impact when she was on the floor as well, collecting three ace serves along with 10 set assists.
“It was kind of scary, because I’m not used to playing backrow all the time,” Wysk said. “Also, when we had the two setters in, I kept almost going for the ball, and then I was like wait, I’m not setting, I’m playing backrow.”
Wysk made the most of her additional playing opportunity during the team’s final regular-season home match.
“She’s been an awesome server for JV and I’ve used her for quite a few varsity matches,” Stoebner said. “I’m just glad that she was able to get her first varsity start.”
The Knights were able to claw back into the third set with a big surge of their own sparked in part by the play of eighth-grade hitter Reagan Jett.
“Reagan has been improving all season and it’s super fun to see her confidence kind of start to grow,” Stoebner said. “She’s just getting a lot smarter, like reading the block and just knowing some of that stuff, which is awesome to see.”
Jett finished with nine total kills, including some key ones to help Christian in its comeback efforts.
“I just try my best to at least tip it over into a spot to get them out of system,” Jett said.
As the team wins one point after another, the momentum continues to build and that was the case as the Knights eventually tied the third set at 19-19, before reeling off five of the last six points to secure the advantage.
“I think when we get a big point, like a kill, it just brings the whole team up and the momentum,” Jett said, “and we just get back into gear.”
Christian was able to pull away from a 15-13 edge in the fourth set to grab the victory.
Arianna Johnson had a match-leading 17 kills to lead the Knights, while Sophie Glynn contributed eight. Sawyer Schwan and Payton Skarin each finished with four aces.
Hannah Morehead led the Cardinals with 11 kills.
Christian will now take a 10-day break before hosting a Region 1B playoff game on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
When asked about the upcoming postseason, Jett responded, “I think we just need to keep the momentum of our last seven games and use that in our first playoff game.”
The Knights concluded the regular season with a 15-8 record and should have plenty of confidence heading to the playoffs.
“I hope that my team is confident, and like I said I’m confident in them,” Stoebner said, “but the biggest thing is the team’s mentality and can we remain focused for the remainder of our season?”
Serving: Ellendale 6 aces (Anisten Petersen 2, Aubrey Middlestead 2, Macy Norton 1, Madeline Thorpe 1); Aberdeen Christian (Sawyer Schwan 4 aces, Payton Skarin 4 aces, Ashley Wysk 3 aces).
Hitting: Ellendale 36 kills (Hannah Morehead 11, Kinsey Middlestead 7, Thorpe 7); Aberdeen Christian (Arianna Johnson 17 kills, Sophie Glynn 8 kills, Reagan Jett 7 kills).
Setting: Ellendale 31 assists (Mya Glynn 26); Aberdeen Christian (Schwan 31 assists, Wsyk 10 assists).
Digs: Ellendale 76 (A. Middlestead 21, K. Middlestead 17, Petersen 12, Glynn 9); Aberdeen Christian (Alexis Isakson 24, Jolie Fogarty 20, Schwan 8).
Blocks: Ellendale 2 solo 4 assists (Morehead 2 solo, Riley Goehring 2 assists); Aberdeen Christian (Johnson 6, Sophia Eichler 2, Jett 1).
Records: Ellendale 17-12; Aberdeen Christian 15-8.
