BCLUW volleyball fights off Rebels (PHOTOS)

By: 
Jake Ryder

REINBECK – Saari Kuehl was going to be a problem for the BCLUW volleyball team on Thursday night.
 
Comets head coach Kristen Garber figures the Gladbrook-Reinbeck sophomore will probably be a thorn in the Comets' side for years to come, too.
 
But BCLUW got the best of the Rebels when it counted, riding a pristine performance at the service line and denying G-R's other attackers enough for a three-set sweep in Reinbeck on Thursday night.
 
BCLUW (5-2) won the NICL West opener for both teams 25-23, 25-23, 25-23. G-R fell to 1-1 overall.
 
"Our girls stayed competitive from beginning to end," Garber said. "We didn't have a lot of ups and downs. [G-R] went on runs and they have good hitters but it felt like we didn't let that get us down."
 
Easton Swanson was the nucleus of the Comets attack with eight kills and also picked up a team-leading 10 digs. Madison Ubben contributed nine digs, four kills and four total blocks and Cate Nason distributed nine assists and two ace serves.
 
Kuehl led G-R with 25 kills, with Haleigh Berendes adding 10 kills. Alyssa Morgan had 35 digs and Kuehl dug up 29 attacks. Meriah Wittgreve paced G-R's block with 7 total blocks.
 
Serving arguably made the biggest difference in each set on Thursday. The Comets didn't make a single service error in 74 attempts, standing in stark contrast to 16 service errors by the Rebels.
 
"I wanted the girls to serve certain places tonight for a reason and they were able to hit those spots," Garber said. "I also thought Lizzie [Garber] stepped up out there with the least amount of experience, she was still hitting spots and keeping them out of system and that was big for us tonight."
 
The Comets erased an early 10-7 lead for the Rebels in the first set and the two teams traded the lead until G-R appeared to have BCLUW on the ropes with a 23-22 lead.
 
The Rebels couldn't land the finishing blow though with back-to-back attack errors followed by a set-winning kill from Swanson.
 
"When we weren't moving the ball well, we were hitting the same spots and [the Comets] were able to sit right on us," G-R head coach Paula Kelley said. "It was a rollercoaster and we knew it was going to be. It was a matter of two, three, four points here and there but everything just worked out for [BCLUW] and they finished out on top."
 
READ MORE: Coming together as one: G-R honors 1988 volleyball team
 
For the full story, see next week's (Sept. 6) Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here. 

The Grundy Register

601 G. Avenue - P.O. Box 245
Grundy Center, IA 50638
Telephone: 1-319-824-6958
Fax: 1-800-340-0805

Mid-America Publishing

This newspaper is part of the Mid-America Publishing Family. Please visit www.midampublishing.com for more information.