Mount Vernon’s varsity volleyballers played Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday last week, falling 2-3 to Beckman Catholic on the 21st, winning 3-1 over Williamsburg on the 23rd, and having mixed results against stiff competition at the Liberty-Mount Vernon Hy-Vee Classic on the 25th.
Tuesday, Sept. 21The Beckman Catholic Trailblazers played host to the Mustangs Tuesday, winning the night 3-2 with sets of 25-15, 25-27, 25-19, 21-25, and 15-11.
“It was truly an outstanding match with two really high skilled teams competing,” said Mustangs head coach Maggie Willems.
“When athletes play in a match like this, it is critical that we focus on one point at a time, and manage the pressure of trying to earn each point,” said Willems.
To her team’s credit, Willems said, “We responded really well to that demand.”
Other than the first set, where the Blazers won 25-15, the remainder of the games were within six points, many of them closer. The Mustangs claimed the second set 27-25, and came out on top in the fourth set 25-11.
The loss brought Mount Vernon’s record to 15-5, while the Trailblazers improved to 18-4.
Thursday, Sept. 23 The Mustangs were back in top form Thursday night when they hosted Williamsburg, winning 3-1 with sets of 21-25, 25-14, 25-9, and 25-15.
The Raiders took the first set 25-21, but the remaining three sets found Mount Vernon winning by 11, 16, and 10 points respectively after that.
After dropping the first set, Willems had a talk with her team.
“We reset our focus regarding blocker location and making sure our hitters listened to where our back row was telling them to hit,” she said.
Saturday, Sept. 25The Liberty-Mount Vernon Hy-Vee Classic, held in Liberty, was a mixed bag for the Mustangs as they found themselves rubbing elbows with some of the top teams around, including the Dike-New Hartford Wolverines, who were 31-0 when they met Mount Vernon Saturday.
“The tournament was all about trying to play the top teams in all classes in the state of Iowa, in order to help us continue to improve,” said Coach Willems.
“We were absolutely better when we walked out the door yesterday than we were when we entered the gym for our first match.
“Our conversations throughout the day were about handling pressure and adversity, and to improve our execution in difficult situations,” Willems said.
“Often times you play a team that has one or two great players, whereas all of the teams we played were balanced, and highly skilled. This changes how you feel defensively,” said Willems.
“We played at a very high-level, after our first two matches of the morning, using them as a wake up call to take a big step forward.”
Following the tournament, the Mustangs record fell to 18-8.