Lady Trojans battle Eagles to tight 4-set match

DRUMMOND - It was a match that defined the character of both volleyball teams from Drummond and Valley Christian, with the Lady Trojans emerging with a 3-1 victory, 25-14, 23-25, 26-24, 29-27.

The win elevates Drummond to 4-1 on the year.

After posting a commanding win in the opening set, Drummond and Valley battled in Set 2 with the visiting Eagles escaping with the victory. Valley took leads both early and midway into Sets 3 and 4, but were unable to capitalize and claim the win.

After the match, junior setter Jesse Struna saw the victory as a result of the team’s mental state. “I think we just have a mentality to keep going. It’s really what pushed us through it.”

Struna finished with a team-best 14 assists with Paytn Rasor close behind at 12. The beneficiaries of their efforts were Holly Hauptman and Delaney Wagner who led in kills with 15 and 11, respectively.Hadley Spencer led in aces with three while Hauptman and Bailey Parke held down the defense in digs with 20 and 15, respectively.

“We talked alot about mentality today,” first-year coach Paige Fickler said after the match. “We talked about that when somebody is down, that someone has to double their own energy. So if your energy is up and you see a teammate that is down, you have to double … Someone has to make up for that lost energy.

“We talk a lot about not letting anything touch the ground. We’ve talked about it doesn’t matter if it goes over in one, two or three. It does not matter to me as long as the ball never hits the ground. If it goes over in one, great, we get another shot at it. But if it touches the ground we’re done.”

The Lady Trojans now head into the Arlee Spike It Tournament this weekend, an event that has seen some changes due to a number of teams having concerns over COVID-19. Drummond is currently slated to play at 9:30, 10:30 and 12:30 in the event, which is slated to be broadcast on the NFHS Network.

JV - Drummond defeats Valley Christian 25-18, 25-11, 17-15.

The Lady Trojan junior varsity remained undefeated on the year with a three-game sweep of the Eagles. The locals have yet to lose a set all season.

Sophomore Lexi Nelson had several significant scoring stretches for Drummond including five aces.

SCORING

Valley Christian - 19/25/24/27

Drummond - 25/23/26/29

Kills - (D) Wagner 11, Spencer 1, Hauptman 15, Struna 2, Perry 5, Rasor 1

Blocks - (D) Hauptman 1

Assists - (D) Spencer 1, Struna 14, Rasor 12

Digs - (D) Parke 15, Wagner 6, Spencer 10, Hauptman 20, Struna 10, Nelson 2, Perry 8, Williams 5, Rasor 11

Aces - (D) Wagner 1, Spencer 3, Hauptman 1, Struna 1, Perry 2, Rasor 1