Mustangs continue to show growth, capture first win
JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
North Nodaway junior Addalea Barcus celebrates a point against Maryville’s junior varsity on Saturday in Hopkins.
HOPKINS, Mo. — It was a busy week for North Nodaway volleyball and one that got off to a painful start. The Mustangs appeared to be closing in on their first win of the season last Tuesday with a 2-0 lead against Heartland Christian.
In previous seasons, the match would have been over — but in 2020, MSHSAA went from best-of-3 to best-of-5 matches and Heartland Christian took advantage by winning the final three sets.
The Mustangs didn’t have time to mope though. On Thursday, they welcomed a Union Star squad, that had a 3-match winning streak against them, to Hopkins.
“It was great to see all that energy and aggression that we built up from that loss, and then we just put it all into beating Union Star,” North Nodaway junior Addalea Barcus said.
North Nodaway was determined to get that first win of the season and they delivered with a 3-0 sweep. The scores were 25-16, 25-21 and 25-15.
“That was huge for us,” North Nodaway sophomore Lily Blane said. “I think that gave us a big confidence booster.”
The service game for the Mustangs was the highlight of the evening with 18 aces.
“We worked on serving a ton this year in practices, so I think that is finally proving itself in our games,” North Nodaway coach Jody Thompson said.
Blane was the star at the stripe. She utilized her jump serve for 10 aces and led the team with an 83.3 serve percentage.
“Over the summer, I worked really hard at volleyball camps and stuff, so that I would get confident with it,” Blane said of her serve.
Blane’s role this season is a unique one as she is a middle hitter for the Mustangs despite standing at 5-foot-4, while also serving as a secondary setter. Blane’s athleticism allows her to fill those multiple spots for the Mustangs.
Blane finished with a team-high 12 assists while junior Lacy Riley added seven.
While Blane was the story at the line, when the Mustangs need a momentum-flipping kill, they tend to turn to Barcus. Barcus finished with a team-high 10 kills on Thursday and added two aces.
“It is going really great,” Barcus said. “Lacy and I are really working together, so is Lily.”
Riley was creative as a setter and finished second on the team with seven kills while senior Amy Richards collected four.
Neveah Halvin has been a breakout player in the early going this season. She had a team-high 11 digs on Thursday.
“We came out fighting that day,” Thompson said. “We had a great practice the night before and we came back with fire.”
The Mustangs took on Maryville’s junior varsity in a pair of contests on Saturday morning at the Mustangs’ annual triangular. The Spoofhounds took the pair of wins with freshman Chloe Blackford shining as a server.
“We know that we have a long year ahead of us,” Thompson said. “It is a building year for us. To get the wins where we can and fight hard the whole time, it is nice to see.”
North Nodaway is set to go on the road to Mound City on Tuesday before a home match with Rock Port on Thursday.
“It gives us a lot of enthusiasm and really tells us that we can do it and that we can keep going and that we are better than we have been before,” Barcus said.
