For a Calvary Lutheran team that has lost only five sets all year, one would think a night where they swept an opponent wouldn't cause any concern.
That wasn't exactly the case for the Lady Lions in their win Thursday night against Chamois.
Coming into the match, Calvary had already swept Chamois on the road not even a month ago by the scores of 25-17 and 25-4.
This time around, the Lady Lions started strong by giving up just three points to the Lady Pirates for a 25-3 win in the first set. The second set was a different story, but ultimately a 25-23 win, extended Calvary's overall record to 15-2.
"The girls just stopped communicating with each other," Calvary head coach Nikki Kueck said. "I think they felt after the first set they were pretty much a walk in the park. Chamois started returning more balls, started blocking some of our hits, started digging some of our spikes and we just didn't respond well to it.
"The girls were very upset with that second set, even though it was a win. They knew they didn't play like they should have played. They knew they didn't respond to the challenge that was presented and they were disappointed."
Kueck said the second set did concern her a bit ahead of a stretch of at least 10 games in a span of 10 days. One of those games involves a road trip to face one of the toughest teams on their schedule in Father Tolton (10-4). Last season, Father Tolton beat the Lady Lions twice in straight sets.
But Kueck is confident in her team based off of its body language in the locker room after Thursday's action.
"Their faces told me everything. They were disappointed," she said. "It's not that I have to lay into them to fix it. They were disappointed with how they played. They won, but they weren't happy. They knew they should have played better and made mistakes. We're going to work on it in the next few days to get ready for those big games. I think that's good that they're taking that on themselves."
The first set was a breeze. Becca Thompson served four straight aces to get the scoring started, while Allison Procter served from point Nos. 13-25 for 12 straight points and the victory. Olivia Bexten continued her successful season with nine kills, seven of which came in the first set.
"I have no complaints about the first one," Kueck said. "Chamois had a touch time passing our balls, we were getting quite a few aces off our serves, and what they did return we were able to kill right at them. That's exactly how I wanted them to play."
Kueck elected to carry over the rotation from the first set into the second one, which put Bexten on the service line first for the Lady Lions. After Chamois' Jordan Slusser served her team to a 5-0 start, Bexten countered with six to take a lead before taking her turn on the bench when Chamois gained possession.
"I switched it up because of how we did in the first set," Kueck said of carrying over her rotation into the second set. "I basically flip-flopped the rotation and started where we left off. It shouldn't have affected the girls at all. It did seem to affect them a little bit, but I think there were a lot of issues with mental breakdowns for the girls. ... I think there were other factors as well.
"It was the exact same girls. I only have eight (players), so it's not like putting anybody out there is going to switch it up that much."
A block by Chamois' Madison Nolte gave the Lady Pirates a 13-11 lead. Bexten recorded a kill for point No. 17 during a crucial seven-point run.
The two teams went back and forth throughout the remainder of the match. They traded pairs of points a few times, until Calvary's Kyra Wiegers served seven straight to give the Lady Lions a five-point advantage.
After regaining possession, Chamois took the next three points to trail 18-17. After giving possession right back to Chamois after two points, Kueck called a timeout tied at 20.
Calvary and Chamois teeter- tottered to the finish, with the Lady Lions edging the visitors 25-23 on a Grace Smith kill.
Katie Goodin was a force in the second set for Calvary, recording four kills. Thompson dished out 12 assists, while Smith had eight. Smith also recorded seven digs.
Calvary will play Saturday at the Belle Tournament. The Lady Lions will face Centralia, Linn and Dixon in pool play.
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