Squandering five set points before losing 29-27 to West Central, something had to change for host West Prairie moving forward in Monday’s non-conference contest.
“We decided to start fresh and get a new mindset for the game,” said Cyclone junior Niah Zimmerman.
The Cyclones responded, rallying by winning the final two sets, and the match 25-23, 25-17.
“Right now, our biggest obstacle is ourselves,” said West Prairie coach Drew Snyder. “Volleyball is a game of whoever makes the fewest errors wins.”
“We were making a lot in the first set,” he added. “I thought in the second and third sets the girls did a nice job of settling in. They were able to cut down on their mistakes.”
“We all collectively want the same thing,” said Cyclone junior setter Josie Hodges. “Our theme is ‘Relentless’ and we’re going to be relentless.”
“We know we’re a small team,” she added. “But what people can not defend is how we react.”
The second set was also close throughout. But at 23-23, a West Central service error, followed by a passing error off a Kamara Zimmerman serve allowed West Prairie to even the match.
Set three saw the Cyclones break away from a 6-6 tie, scoring six of the next seven points in building a 12-7 advantage.
“We served a lot better in sets two and three,” said Snyder. “That helped us build some leads.”
The Cyclones also mixed up their hits finding the open spots in the Heat defense.
“That’s something we’ve been getting better at,” said Niah Zimmerman. “We’ve been working really hard in practice in finding those spots that are open.”
The Cyclones also had an improved effort defensively, including the block against West Central’s Lillian Higgins, who finished with 19 kills.
“It does all start with the mindset to have the mentality that ‘I’m going to get the ball and I’m not going to let it touch the ground,’” said Niah Zimmerman.
“That’s something we’ve been working on heavy and I think it showed up for us.”
Stats for the Cyclones included the following: Alyvia Barkley – 8 kills Niah Zimmerman – 6 kills, 7 digs and 7 service points with 1 ace Payton McGrew – 2 kills, 1.5 blocks Ashlynn Kelley – 2 kills and 5 service points with 1 ace Madison Adams – 2 kills Josie Hodges – 18 set assists Lilly Sheffler– 11 service points with 1 ace Madison McClure – 8 service points with 3 aces “Right now, we’re not absolutely playing our best volleyball,” said Snyder. “But we’re still finding ways to compete or win.”
“We were pretty slow to start this game,” added Hodges. “Hopefuly we can start quicker (in the future).”
Higgins added 9 digs for West Central (3-1).
Jenna Bewley – 4 aces and 5 digs Rikki Pullen – 8 digs Addy Burrell – 7 digs Rylie Ferguson – 5 digs and 16 set assists On Tuesday, the Cyclones headed to Farmington, battling their way to 25-17, 15-25, 25-18 Prairieland Conference crossover victory.
Stats for the Cyclones included the following: Hodges – 16 set assists Niah Zimmerman – 7 kills Barkley – 6 kills, 6 service points with 2 aces McGrew – 4 kills Kelley – 3 kills Sheffler – 10 service points with 2 aces Stats for the Cyclones from the Suns Classic included the following: Niah Zimmerman – 33 kills, 44 digs, 1.5 blocks, 19 service points with 5 aces McGrew – 20 kills and 6.5 blocks Barkley – 14 kills, 31 digs, 2.5 blocks Adams – 16 kills McClure – 41 digs, 18 service points with 2 aces Sheffler – 16 digs Hodges – 62 set assists, 19 digs, 26 service points with 3 aces Kelley – 5.5 total blocks, 15 service points with 3 aces Kamara Zimmerman – 11 digs West Prairie (9-7) returned to Prairieland Conference South Division play Thursday hosting South Fulton (2-1, 0-1).
On Monday, the Cyclones will host Peoria Heights before playing at Bushnell- Prairie City the following evening.
