On-court teamwork

BHS goes 2-1, Eagles 0-3 at AHS Volleyball Invite

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Losers in seven of their last eight matches, the Blair Bears won 2-of-3 Saturday at the Arlington Volleyball Invitational.
They worked together to get it done.
“We played like a unit and not six individual people,” sophomore setter Hailey Roewert said, citing the team's energy and a “next-point mentality.”
The host Eagles, meanwhile, went 0-3. At 0-17 overall, though, sophomore Izzy Nuss felt her AHS squad showed improvement as the tournament went on.
“I think we did really good today overall,” she said, crediting block work and the play of the Eagles' middle hitters.
Before the Washington County volleyball teams each played against Wahoo Neumann — which went 3-0 Saturday — and Omaha Roncalli, they played each other. Coach Becca Mellema's BHS squad won in straight sets, 25-12 and 25-20.
The Bears started fast, taking a 9-3 lead before Arlington coach Stacy Nelson took her first timeout. Peyton Ogle had a pair of kills during the early stages, while Valeria Hernandez put together a serve streak and Taylor Mostek forced the break in the action with her own kill.
Nuss said the Eagles struggled at first, working to implement a new lineup against their neighbor school.
“We were adjusting to that,” she said.
Blair continued its attack after AHS' timeout, however. Roewert's timely tip over the net produced a 12-5, first-set lead. Ellia Klanderud's kill pushed the lead to eight before Roewert's eventual ace made the score 17-5.
Nuss had a pair of kills down the stretch, but Mostek's spike to claim the set earned a 1-0 lead for the visiting Bears.
Mellema and Nelson's teams then traded points during the early stages of the second set. Callee Shearer notched an Arlington kill before teammate Macy Wolf beat a block and Emme Timm followed up her own kill with an ace.
Lizzie Meyer's attack through a Blair block cut Arlington's disadvantage to 12-10 despite Blair kills from Roewert and Ogle. From there, though, the visitors went on an 8-1 run to take a 20-11 lead on Klanderud's ace.
Wolf added an Eagles kill and ace down the stretch, but Abigail Schlachter's ace at 23-15 and an unreturned Natalie Reed attack were enough to get the 25-20 Blair victory.
“We kind of took advantage of doing quicks and putting new people in,” Roewert said. “I'm really happy that new people got to play.”
The Bears lost their next match to Wahoo Neumann (25-17, 25-16), but rebounded with a 2-0 capper against Roncalli.
“Energy and being fast,” Roewert said when asked what the keys to the 25-18, 25-19 victory were.
Klanderud and Nicki Wendt started the match with back-to-back kills before Ogle's block ended it.
Arlington, meanwhile, lost 2-0 matches to both Roncalli and Neumann. It fell 25-14, 25-16 to the Pride before a 25-11, 25-16 loss to the Cavaliers.
The Eagles were pleased with their play against 9-6 Neumann, though.
“I felt like that was one of the best games we had all season,” Nuss said.
AHS contended well into the second set after beginning it with a 3-1 advantage. Meyer first won a point at the net before scoring a kill with a light strike to the middle of the floor.
Peyton Timm's kill to the back row pulled Arlington even with Cavs, 6-6, before Meyer's hard block gave the home squad an 8-7 advantage.
“The intensity of the game kind of kept all of us going,” Nuss said.
Neumann took back the lead, but a Meyer kill to the back line at 13-11 and a Wolf spike to the middle of the floor (16-13) kept the Eagles in it. The home team eventually lost, though, dropping to 0-for-17 this season. Blair, meanwhile, improved to 6-11 after three matches on AHS courts.

Eagles drop triangular matches
Conestoga hosted AHS on Thursday before the Eagles' own hosting duties Saturday.
Coach Nelson's team lost a pair of 2-0 matches to Logan View and the Cougars there. It dropped the Raiders matchup 25-15, 25-16 before falling to the home team 25-16, 25-20.
Arlington next plays 7 p.m. Thursday when it hosts the Blair Bears for a second time this fall.

High School Volleyball