Vikings force set five to Lady Reds, but come up empty
Tuesday night during set five of its volleyball match to the Missouri Valley Lady Reds, the AHSTW Vikings were handed its sixth loss in its previous seven matches. Lady Reds Senior Henley Arbaugh served the ball in the backcourt, which deflected off Vikings Junior Grayson Gettler out of bounds for the final point of the night, 15-8.
“I am super proud of the girls and their resiliency,” said Viking Head Coach Kelsey Muxfeldt. “The girls, this school, and the community had a very rough day. They could have quit and given up after set two just to be done with the night. They didn't though, and really showed what type of team they are. We needed that, and so did our fans.”
The Vikings dropped the first two sets, 26-24 and 25-17, but came back to win the next two sets, 25-23 and 25-22. Following the loss in set two, Muxfeldt pulled her team aside for a quick meeting.
“I told them I wanted them to fight,” Muxfeldt said. “I wanted to see their ability to bounce back after two disappointing set losses. This is a great group of girls, and I know they have it in them. We see so many moments of it, and I think we really saw their ability to battle through adversity last night.”
During sets three and four, Delaney Goshorn came up with blocks at the net preventing the Lady Reds from scoring. Goshorn finished with four blocks on the night and leads the team with 34.
“Delaney works her tail off to put herself exactly where we need her in every rally,” Muxfeldt said. “It doesn't always fall our way, but when she is on the court, I know she is going to give me 110% effort. She shows that night in and night out.”
Sophomore Halle Goodman led the way with 26 of the 43 assists on the night, setting up many of her teammates for shots that resulted in points against Missouri Valley. Goodman has 61 assists on the season, the third most on the team behind Freshman Kendra Hansen with 78 and Senior Lauren Yates with 151.
“Halle had a tremendous game,” Muxfeldt said. “She served really well and did a nice job of putting the ball where our hitters needed it. It's great to have her hustle and determination back on the court.”
With this loss, the Vikings move to 6-15 on the season. Their next match will be Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against the 14-6 Tri-Center Trojans, who have won eight consecutive matches, their most recent coming against Boyer Valley during a Saturday tournament winning two consecutive sets.
The Trojans are led by Meya Wingert with 390 assists, Mikenzie Brewer with 120 kills, Harlie Leaders with 34 blocks, and Avilyn Killpack with 206 digs.
“We need to learn to do the little things right,” Muxfeldt said. “We need to communicate with each other, have energy, and focus on being mentally tough. Tri-Center is a good team that doesn't let a lot of balls hit the floor. We are going to have to be crafty with our offensive shots, and make sure we are covering the floor defensively.”