Trojan volleyball nets win over Rockets
Nodaway-Holt’s Amanda Bohannon clears the block attempt by Brittany McIntyre of West Nodaway as the Trojans take the first set 25-15. Nodaway-Holt would win the second set Tuesday night as well for a 2-0 win over the Rockets at Graham.
The Nodaway-Holt Trojan volleyball team pulled a narrow win in their second set win over the West Nodaway Rockets Tuesday night to win the night 2-0 in front of their hometown crowd in Graham.
The first set came easy for Nodaway-Holt, a 25-15 opener that looked much like their win against the Rockets a few days earlier in the Nodaway-Holt Volleyball Tournament.
“We had confidence going into tonight because we knew we could beat them,” Nodaway-Holt coach Tobie Bohannon said of her team’s high-energy entry into the matchup Tuesday night.
On the flipside, West Nodaway coach Jennifer McGinness thought her team came out a little flat to begin.
“I just didn’t see that energy that we usually have,” she said. “We talked a lot after that first set about getting pumped and communicating with one another in that second set.”
The Rockets were able to make that turnaround and nearly pulled a fast one on the Trojans who looked to have figured the second set won.
“We tend to do that sometimes, no matter who it is we’re playing,” Bohannon said of her team’s lack of focus coming into the second set.
A kill by Brittany McIntyre was followed by an ace by Madalyn Walker to help bump West Nodaway to a 7-4 lead. A kill by Makenzie Finney made it an 8-4 game. Nodaway-Holt’s miscommunication led to a five-point deficit behind the Rockets, but the Trojans banded together with an ace by Halle Clement followed immediately by Shaina Culp with a kill. Nodaway-Holt tied the game at 12-all.
Finney adds a pair of kills for West Nodaway to build back a slight advantage over Nodaway-Holt, but the Trojans outscore West Nodaway. Up 21-20, Nodaway-Holt never looks back with late key performances by Culp and Clement, among others. The Trojans pulled a 25-20 victory to win 2-0 over the Rockets.
“I was happy that the girls never got down on themselves,” Bohannon said. “That seemed to be the difference between the two teams tonight, in that we may have gotten behind, but we just continued to play. When the girls are having fun, they play better, and that was also the case for us tonight.”
Nodaway-Holt improves to 4-12 as the Rockets move to 3-13-1 for the season.
Breanna Day of Nodaway-Holt rushes for a dig to keep the Trojans in the game against West Nodaway during the first set.
One of the key components for West Nodaway in set two was Mackenzie Finney and her kills.
