By this season's standards, Nikki Kueck described Calvary Lutheran's win Tuesday as just OK.
Calvary got off to a 16-4 start against Montgomery County before the Lady Lions' volleyball coach noticed a drop in communication that allowed the Wildcats to gain momentum. Calvary, though, rebounded from a mid-match slump to beat Montgomery County 25-13, 25-17 on Tuesday at Calvary Lutheran High School.
"As a team they took care of business tonight," Kueck said, "but as a team I know it was a little bit harder and I just want them to keep pushing themselves and play their game."
After building that 12-point cushion, the two teams ended the first set and started the second going back-and-forth scoring a point or two apiece. The Lady Lions didn't talk as much when the ball was in the air, leading to a few shots falling to the ground uncontested.
At one point in the second set, the Lady Lions trailed 6-3 before a timeout was taken. Kueck said it was not the first time the Lady Lions had spurts where they had lack of communication this season. She told them what she normally does when the team is in a slump.
"'Ladies, go back to your fundamentals,'" Kueck told her players. "You know what you're doing, you know what you're supposed to be doing, you know how to set the ball and you know what you need to do to place the ball and put it on the floor, and that's what you've got to back to, just focus on those fundamentals take care of it, put it down and go back to what we're doing."
The Lady Lions just went back to the basics. The communication returned, and so too did the intensity.
Calvary went on a 10-2 run after the timeout to pad a 17-8 lead. The teams went back to swapping points until Calvary put Montgomery County away for good to win the 105th match in program history.
Last Thursday at Chamois, Calvary Lutheran won its 100th match. The milestone was celebrated between the junior varsity and varsity matches Tuesday.
Former players and coaches from the team's 10-season history joined the current Lady Lions at center court to be recognized and take pictures. At the end of the game, freshman Madison Layson presented Coach Kueck with a red and white volleyball signed by all her current players.
"It was pretty awesome," Kueck said. "It was pretty cool to have some of those alumni kids who were here with us tonight, the former coaches all were able to make it that were part of our program. Being a part of Calvary volleyball is a neat experience."
Getting a win helped, too.
Sophomore Olivia Bexten had 11 service points, four aces and nine kills, and sophomore Grace Smith had five kills and six assists. Senior Becca Thompson had nine assists, senior Kyra Wiegers had four digs, and Layson and senior Kenzie Schulte each had three digs.
The Lady Lions are only one win shy of tying the school record for wins in a season, and could break it Saturday at the Eugene Invitational. Still, the Lady Lions' focus is the same as it was when the season started: A rematch with the team that beat them in the Class 1 District 9 title match last season,
"We have our eyes ultimately set on New Haven, we know that they're probably going to be the toughest team that we have in districts," Kueck said. "They want to play New Haven, they want have that experience to play New Haven, they want the opportunity to see how they stack up against them."