Huskies come out on top vs. Pirates
Sutter defeats Wheatland, 3-1
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The Wheatland and Sutter volleyball teams came into Tuesday’s pink out match with a league title on their minds. After four sets full of back-and-forth battles, the Huskies came out on top: 24-26, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-20.
“We were able to really progress from the service line tonight and I think that’s what the differencemaker was for us,” Sutter head coach Ann Reynolds said. “Sometimes our nerves get the best of us early and it takes a little bit to settle down,” she added.
After Wheatland’s Sierra Drake tallied an ace in the third set, the Huskies found themselves down 23-17. That’s when the light switch got flipped on.
Sutter’s Jaya Bains responded with two straight aces to ignite the Huskies rally. After capitalizing on some of the Pirates’ mistakes, Sutter proceeded to score eight unanswered points taking the set by a score of 25-23.
“She (Bains) really helped get us going there. If we don’t get those serves from her it changes the outcome of that set and puts us in a different position,” Reynolds said.
The first set showed everyone in attendance at Wheatland’s gym that this was going to be a dog fight. Both teams traded spikes and it would come down to a win-by-two showdown. After Wheatland let the Huskies hang around, the Pirates were able to take the set 26-24 on a spike that was followed by a bad return for Sutter.
BELOW: Wheatland’s Madison
From there the Huskies regrouped and bounced back in the second set, relying on some major hits from Sarah Lutz and Mikenzi Johnson.
“Both of those girls played great up front, they hit their spots and were absolutely phenomenal down the stretch for us,” Reynolds said.
Wheatland’s Kennedy Netto made what may have been the play of the match in the third set when she dove across the floor for a very impressive dig that resulted in a point for the Pirates when it caught Sutter by surprise. While Netto’s play stood out for the Pirates, Sutter was able to weather the storm and take the third and fourth sets for the victory.
Lutz finished the night with 25 digs and 16 kills, while Maddie Kunkle also made a name for herself tallying 20 assists, 13 digs and four kills.
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Other notable contributions from Sutter included Mikenzi Johnson with 15 kills, Amber Alexander with 12 digs and Jaya Bains with 17 assists and two blocks.
Both teams will play their final matches on Thursday at home: Sutter (26-8, 8-1) will face off with Gridley, while Wheatland (31-10, 7-2) will play host to Orland.