Thunder fall to Trojans in four sets

By Phil Cobb | October 10, 2023 |

ANTHONY CRANE/THE FORUM
Nodaway Valley’s Emalee Wynn spikes a ball against Union Star on Tuesday in Graham.

GRAHAM, Mo. — The Nodaway Valley Thunder began the season 7-3, but that hot start has turned into adversity as the team dropped their fourth-straight match Tuesday night in Graham. Nodaway Valley fell to 9-9 this season after a 3-1 loss to the Union Star Trojans.

The Thunder got off to a good start against a Union Star team that had lost nine of 11 coming into the match.

Nodaway Valley got off to a quick start, scoring six of the first eight points in the set. But the Trojans regained the lead with an 8-2 run that gave them a 10-8 lead.

The Thunder went on their second run of the set with some help from the Trojans. Union Star allowed four points with balls hit out of bounds and another hit into the net.

Nodaway Valley held the lead for a while before a run of three-straight points for the Trojans gave Union Star a 20-18 lead. The final run of the set went to the Thunder, who rallied for the win behind three aces and a kill from Paige Hanson. The Thunder scored the final two points to win 25-22.

The second set had very little back-and-forth. Nodaway Valley took a 3-2 lead early, then never led again in the set. Union Star won the second set 25-22.

Things began to derail for the Thunder in a third set that they were never in contention of winning. Union Star pulled away early with a 9-0 run and led by as many as 16 at 22-6. The Thunder ended the set with a good run, but eventually fell 25-16.

The final set saw a similar result with Nodaway Valley taking a 2-0 lead only to see it be their final lead. The Trojans took the lead and outscored the Thunder 25-13 after falling behind early.

Savanna Marriott led the Thunder with 38 assists Tuesday night after missing the team’s match against Rock Port. Reganne Fast led the team with 11 kills while Anastyn Nielson finished just behind her teammate with 10 kills.

Nodaway Valley will end the regular season with matches against North Nodaway on Thursday and South Harrison on Monday. The Thunder will then enter the Class 1 District 16 Tournament as the No. 5 seed.

The Thunder will begin the tournament with the Mound City Panthers. The two teams played twice this year with Nodaway Valley taking the first match 3-0, then fell to the Panthers 3-0 on Oct. 3.

The winner of that match will play the top seeded East Atchison Wolves on Oct. 19. The Wolves are 21-3 this season and came into the week with 12-straight wins.