Spartans trounce Comets in straight sets

If the pattern of Tuesday’s NICL West match between BCLUW and Grundy Center felt familiar, it’s because it played out similarly for the third straight year. The teams came in one-two in the conference, and the Comets played inspired volleyball early on in the night. But in the end, the seven-time defending champion Spartans won in straight sets, 25-21, 25-12, 27-25.
           
“We came out really tight. We were trying to do things too perfect, so we weren’t really relaxed. This is a team that when we’re relaxed, we play a lot better,” Grundy Center coach Lori Willis said.
           
The Comets (16-3, 4-1) jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the opening set and appeared to have all of the momentum, but Grundy Center  (17-9, 4-0) clawed back with kills from Landry Luhring and Kylie Willis to tie the score at five. After a Hailey Wallis ace, it was 7-5, and the Spartans led until BCLUW tied the score at 16 with a Cate Nason ace. The Comets actually took a 20-18 lead after a Leah Yantis kill and appeared to be in the driver’s seat, but Grundy Center responded by scoring the next six points and closed out the set when Willis launched a spike to make the score 25-21.
 
Read more in this week's Grundy Register.