Mustang Volleyball Comes Close, Falls Short Against Rockets

North Nodaway did much better last Tuesday against West Nodaway than the first time, when they lost to the Rockets in straight sets. But they fell short in the third frame and lost 16-25, 25-22, 21-25.
In the first set, the Mustangs jumped out to a 6-2 lead behind the strong serving of Jacquelyn Cline, but the Rockets battled back and tied it at 7. There were several other ties and lead changes as the game was knotted at 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, and 16. But then jump serving powerhouse Reagan Hagey served for the Rockets, and the Mustangs could not handle any of her serves, dropping the last nine points to fall in the first set.

In the second set, North Nodaway fell behind 3-1, but then West Nodaway committed a net violation, putting Cline on serve. A kill by Tessa Steele put the Mustangs up 5-3, but then Hagey took the serve for the Rockets. This time, North Nodaway did much better at handling her serves, and a kill by Karlie Emery stopped the run.

A kill by Jacquelyn Cline put the Mustangs in front 12-8, but then the Rockets fought back to tie it at 12 and then go up 16-13. But then Danielle Riedel came off the bench, and her unorthodox underhanded serve gave the Rockets trouble, and the Mustangs tied it right back up again.

Hagey threatened to take control as she took serve with her team up 19-17, but she made a rare serving error, and Tessa Steele’s serve that would have gone out of bounds touched a Rocket player to tie it at 19. The game remained tied at 20, 21, and 22 before Cline got the serve for North Nodaway. Karlie Emery got a kill, another serve by Cline resulted in a bad pass into the net, and Cline finished it with an ace that West Nodaway let go, but hit the back line.

Jacquelyn Cline had the serve for the Mustangs in the extra period and North Nodaway got the first six points, but then the serving of Lexi Moore got the Rockets right back in it. The game was tied at 7, 8, and 9 before the serving of Riley Linville and the hitting of Moore threatened to make it into a runaway as the Mustangs trailed 15-9.

But then aces by Layna Murphy and Karlie Emery, a tip by Cline, and a kill by Emery helped fuel a Mustang run as they fought back to within 17-16. Finally, Jadon Dobbins’ tip tied it at 18. But then Hagey’s turn to serve came around again, and she got her team three straight points to put her team up 22-19. The Rockets mishandled a return to kill the rally, but then Hagey came out of nowhere, as she did several times, to get a tip to seal North Nodaway’s chances.