New Richmond – The last couple of weeks have been a little unsettling for Wyoming East volleyball.
Injuries and roster changes threw the two-time defending sectional champions into a little bit of a spin at a crucial time in the season.
Tuesday night when regional foes Midland Trail and Liberty stepped into the War Zone, the Warriors once again looked like a team ready to make some postseason noise.
Guided by a strong net presence and solid work from the service line, Wyoming East operated like a well-oiled machine to cruise past the Patriots and the Raiders, 2-0 in each match.
“They have really come together. These girls share that common goal of making it to the state tournament and they are willing to play any position that needs filled,” Wyoming East head coach Tabitha Lusk said. “I have girls that would really like to just play back row. I have Haley Adkins playing front row because that is what we needed tonight and what we have needed the last couple of weeks. They are just willing to work and sacrifice.”
The Warriors opened the tri-match with a 25-9 and 25-18 win over Midland Trail. The Raiders followed with by taking down the Patriots 25-13 and 25-17.
In the battle of state tournament hopefuls, Liberty jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and led 9-5 before Wyoming East answered the bell.
“We definitely had a slow start. That seems to be our trend, but I am happy with the way they played tonight,” Lusk said. “Their coverage was good and their communication was good. Our net presence was strong as well tonight.”
The Raiders aided the home team with three straight attacking errors before all-stater Carli Raye had a huge block to even the set at 9-9.
An ace from Adkins and a kill from Amanda Silva on an over pass by Liberty, along with the fourth attacking error during the run, gave the Warriors a 12-9 advantage they never relinquished.
Another kill and a block from Raye later in the match helped push the lead to six points at 20-14, leading to a 25-18 win for East.
“We do that. I tell them to start strong and end strong,” Liberty head coach Denise Arline said. “Well, they started strong, but sometimes we don’t finish strong. We do have a young team and sometimes you can see the freshman get nervous, especially if they miss-hit a shot.”
Although the Warriors started slow in the first set, they never seemed to hit the panic button, steadily battling back for the win.
“They typically don’t panic. Every now and then we get in our heads and have a little bit of trouble. For the most part, these girls have really worked on the mental part of their game,” Lusk said. “A couple of years ago when they were freshman, that was our downfall, not being mentally strong. We have really worked on that. We try not to get caught up in the score and not play scared. I tell them all the time, no matter what the score is, we have to play our game. They are doing much better with that.”
Wyoming East jumped out to a 12-4 lead in set two led by a pair of kills and an ace from Karlee Lusk, along with a block and a kill from Silva, plus another block from Raye.
“We have our wall of Carli, Carli Raye, Carlee Rollins and Karlee Lusk and Amanda follows in behind that wall,” Lusk said. “It just makes for a solid net presence.”
Lusk played particularly well Tuesday night after being sidelined with a recent ankle injury.
“She has never actually been injured, so the healing process was a new process for her,” Lusk said about her daughter. “She thought it would only be a couple of days, so it was a rude awakening for her. She has come back and is playing strong.”
Before the home team could put the second set in the books, Liberty rallied behind junior standout Emily Williams who sparked a 6-0 run with three aces.
“Emily plays well almost every night,” Arline said. “She is a solid rock for us and she is also a cheerleader. Whenever somebody gets down, she picks them up. We have to have that.”
The run came to a halt on another kill from Raye and a blast from Rollins. Add in a pair of attacking errors by the Raiders and the lead quickly went back to six points at 17-11.
A pair of aces and a kill from Silva, along with a bomb from Raye helped push the lead to 24-14 before a blast from Lusk secured the sweep for the Warriors at 25-16.
“We typically do serve well and have been lately. Tonight was no exception to that,” Lusk said. “We work on serving a lot in practice and we work on serve receive in practice. They have gotten much stronger. When you have a like mindset, a common goal and a great work ethic, you can really accomplishment a lot.”
Both teams will be back in action Saturday at Westside in the Coalfield Conference Tournament.
