When the Bravettes were zeroed in, they were OK against Iowa Valley. And they were, often enough.
Result: A 3-0 victory at home in the first round of regional tournament play on Monday evening, Oct. 19. But . . .
“The girls played very well to start the opening set, but lacked some focus in the second set,” Coach Tim Burgess said.
Montezuma was a 25-14 winner in that first set.
But Iowa Valley (6-19) gave the Bravettes a real push in the second. Montezuma persevered, 26-24.
The Bravettes (13-6) won 25-15 in the third, to advance to Wednesday’s second round, also at home, against HLV (13-9).
“Bottom line is, during this time of the year, you win and move on,” Burgess said. “I am proud we gave ourselves another opportunity to play.”
“Iowa Valley was not able to have some of their starting rotation play,” Burgess pointed out. “I thought they competed hard against us, but our athletes didn’t maintain the level of play we expect of ourselves, regardless of who you play.”
“Therefore,” Burgess said, “Iowa Valley’s young lineup started to believe in themselves. I am proud of how we regrouped and finished up the evening.”
“I did switch up our lineup because I think it will help us long term, but it may take some time until we get accustomed to it,” Burgess said.
“My theory is if there is something you can do to improve, you do it regardless of where you are in the season,” the coach said. “Only time will tell is this ends up being true.”
The Bravettes kept the ball coming at Iowa Valley and with something on it.
Montezuma was successful on 67 of 71 serve attempts (.918), and hit 11 aces. Four servers, Katie Reynolds, Ash Krousie, Shanae Wetering and Korrinn Kehoe, were a combined 52-for-52, with nine of those aces.
“I really like our improved placement on our serves,” Burgess said. “The ball has to be moved around the court – or kept in one specific location – consistently. It’s something the ladies have bought into and I hope helps them as we progress during this tournament run.”
Burgess was happy with some other aspects. “Our hitters got back to the 10-foot line faster so they were in better position to attack the net,” he said.
Montezuma’s attack efficiency was .353, which is strong.
“I also think we continue to improve on our first passes, thus helping our setters and hitters to their jobs more effectively,” the coach said.
“We need to continue to work on our communication and getting back to base every play,” Burgess said.
“I love that we’re playing hard and I know the girls want to do the right things. We are all just trying to improve, including me,” he said.
“I know we are excited to play HLV on Wednesday night,” Burgess said. “They have a highly competitive program and we have great battles every time we play.”
UP NEXT – HLV (13-9) vs. Montezuma (13-6) Wednesday evening, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in Montezuma.
Stats vs. Iowa Valley
Kills – Korrinn Kehoe 8, Dylan Holland 7, Shanae Wetering 6, Ash Krousie 5.
Assists – Katie Reynolds 19, Kierstyn Price 1.
Blocks – Holland 1, Allyson Larmore 1.
Digs – Larmore 3, Kehoe 2, Krousie 2, Price 2, Reynolds 2, Wetering 1.
Serves – Reynolds 16-16 with one ace; Krousie 14-14 with four aces; Wetering 13-13 with two aces; Kehoe 9-9 with two aces; Holland 6-8, Larmore 5-8 with one ace; Price 4-5 with one ace.