ALBIA – The highlight of the tournament for new Montezuma Coach Rylie Little came in the fourth match of the night.
Bravettes Shanae Wetering and Korrinn Kehoe joined forces, “for one of the most exciting tandem blocks I’ve ever seen,” Little said. “That one got me pumped up for the rest of the season.”
The Bravettes lost their first two matches, including one to seventh-ranked (Class 1A) Southeast Warren, which went 25-1 last season.
Then they immediately turned things around, scoring a 2-1 win over rival North Mahaska. Then came the Wetering-Kehoe block in a 2-0 win over Seymour.
“I saw a lot of good things,” Little said. “We played very well.”
“We’ll keep trying to improve parts of our game. And that’s how we’ll measure success,” the coach said.
The Lady Dees tournament was played Monday evening, Aug. 23.
Little said her team started slow against Albia, a larger school, which scored a 21-19, 21-15 victory.
Things starting picking up against Southeast Warren. The Bravettes forced a third set, which Southeast Warren won 15-5 to take that match.
Montezuma started showing some team versatility in serving, with Kallie Robison going nine-for-nine with two aces while Izzy Roorda was six-for-six with one ace.
“We knew we made some mistakes, but the girls also knew North Mahaska was next.”
Did the Bravettes eliminate some mistakes?
They did, Little said.
“Just knowing where we needed to be on plays made a difference, and we communicated better,” said the coach.
“We were getting into the right rhythm and rotation,” Little said. “We needed to cover tips better and not stand directly behind our blocks.”
“Shanae Wetering started serving rockets, right over the net, then the ball bee-lined into the defense.”
Wetering was six-for-seven serving, with two aces. Katie Reynolds was 12-for-14, with two aces.
Montezuma won 26-24, then North Mahaska won game two, 21-15. The Bravettes prevailed 15-8 in the third.
“North Mahaska was scrappy and picked up things,” said the Bravettes’ coach.
The Bravettes kept hitting and serving, with Roorda going 13-for-14, with one ace.
Montezuma overpowered Seymour, 21-11 and 21-18. “It wasn’t as tight, and we worked on some things without the pressure of losing the lead on every point,” Little said.”
Wetering drew her coach’s praise for her kills, and so did Roorda. Little said Kehoe, “was strong on slides, when she comes around our blocker and winds up with an attack from the right side.”
“Shanae also served well, and so did Kallie Robison,” Little said. “Kallie is very scrappy going across the back row.”
Katie Reynolds set up the hitters. “She is quick and fast, gets to the ball, and we got the ball to her so she could do her thing,” Little said.
“She (Reynolds) also tried some dumps and tips and I was glad to see that,” Little said. “Katie is left handed, and that can throw the defense off stride.”
Montezuma doesn’t play again until Tuesday, Aug. 31, when the Bravettes will host their own tournament, starting at 5 p.m. They’ll play HLV, Williamsburg, and GMG.
“We’ll work on conditioning between now and then,” Little said. The Bravettes were happy that Albia had air conditioning, which it didn’t have the last time Montezuma visited.
“Still, by the third match, some of our girls were red in the face,” Little said.
“We’ll also be working at getting digs after attacks, our coverages on attacks . . and just getting back into the groove of things.”
“But yes, I’m excited,” said Montezuma’s coach.