The #6 (2A) Dike-New Hartford volleyball team made the right adjustments in the final two sets, and defeated #7 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg 3-1 at home Tuesday, as aired on 99 The Wave. The Wolverines won by set scores of 25-17, 21-25, 25-15, 25-16.
In the first set, the Wolverines started strong by scoring the match’s first four points, but the Falcons fought back to tie it at 7-7. DNH pulled away, but AP remained within striking distance.
In set 2, the Falcons had an 8-4 lead that eventually turned into an 18-17 deficit. But AP scored six straight points to lead 23-18 before closing out their first set win in the series since 2018.
The Wolverines settled in for the next two sets to decisively win the match. They used 7-0 runs in sets 3 and 4 to take firm control and win their 21st straight in the series with AP.
“I think our defense and our serve reception picked up the third and fourth sets, which allowed us the ability to get better swings offensively,” Dike-New Hartford coach Diane Harms says. “And our defense, when they’re able to dig balls and we can go into transition, the opportunity to score, I thought that was really good. Our defense did a very solid job. They’ve been doing a good job all season, but they really made some good adjustments and were able to keep the ball alive.”
Shannon Moorman led with 15 kills and Izzy Norton added 12.
AP coach Candace Kleespies says errors cost her team.
“After that second set, Dike came out pushing right away and we just made too many errors kind of at the beginning there of that third set,” Kleespies says. “And the girls played really, really hard. They came in with the chip on the shoulder like we told them they needed to. And they came in with the confidence knowing that they could get it done. Honestly, they were toe for toe with them a lot of the sets. And then we just kind of gave up about four or five point runs, I feel like, in each of those sets. Other than that, I mean, they literally were point for point. It’s just those four or five point runs, it’s really hard to come back from that against a good quality team.”
Peyton Klooster led with 16 kills and Zoey Uhlenhopp had nine.
AP (8-1, 1-1 NICL-C) will host their annual home tournament Saturday. The Wolverines (5-8, 2-0 NICL-C) will return to action Thursday, September 19 by hosting a conference triangular with #12 (2A) Grundy Center and #15 (2A) Sumner-Fredericksburg.
Diane Harms interview:
Candace Kleespies interview:
