When it was time to focus, the Helias Lady Crusaders were all business.
Helias saw a seven-point lead slip away in the first game before recovering for the win, then led by as many as 11 points in the second game in a 25-23, 25-17 victory Monday night against the Quincy (Ill.) Blue Devils at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"We were a little rusty, we probably needed a day of practice," Helias coach David Harris said. "It's been awhile since we've played or practiced."
The Lady Crusaders took advantage of multiple Blue Devil errors to take a 19-12 lead in the first game. But Quincy slowly worked its way back into the game and trailed just 22-21.
But Helias was able to get a sideout every time Quincy served the remainder of the game to close it out.
"We were able to refocus," Harris said. "We dealt with it pretty well."
That momentum carried over into the second game. After Quincy scored the first point to take its only lead of match, Helias rattled off eight of the next 10 points to take the lead for good.
"When we passed well, they were having trouble adjusting," Harris said.
The Lady Crusaders led 21-10 before the Blue Devils came back to cut the final margin to eight.
"It was a lot better than the first game," Harris said. "I don't know how many serving errors we had, but it was definitely more than we've had all year. But we can afford to make some errors because we figure we're going to get those points back at some point because of how well we serve."
Ashley Dudenhoeffer totaled 20 assists in the match to lead Helias. She also served for nine points.
Blake Berhorst eight digs for the Lady Crusaders, while Maddie Dunkmann had seven. Erica Haslag finished with six kills, while Molly Sandbothe had four. Haslag and Sandbothe had two kills each.
Helias (8-0) will play today at Rolla.
In Monday's JV match, Helias was a 25-18, 25-12 winner. Bradi Berhorst had nine serves for points, while Maddie Neuner had seven. Both had an ace. Berhorst also totaled 15 digs.
Lexi Lamb finished with 11 assists, while Hannah Borschelt and Erin Wyrick totaled five kills each for the Lady Crusaders (17-0).
In the freshman match Monday, Helias posted a 25-4, 25-11 victory.
Grace Twehous had 10 points for the Lady Crusaders, while Mary Macy had nine and Amie Henson had eight. All three had three aces. Elizabeth Mealy finished with 10 digs, while Morgan Miles had three kills Alyssa Sullivan and Twehous both had six assists for Helias (14-0).