BOONVILLE — Tell City volleyball on Monday played their first game of the season against the Boonville Pioneers and the Marksmen took control in the first set. However, Boonville went on to win the next three sets to win the match.
The Marksmen’s promising start took place with them going on 7-1 run in the first set. From there, the Marksmen found ways to take control of the set and never really let Boonville find rhythm as the set finalized with a 25-17 score. Yet the Marksmen were not able to keep the momentum going.
Boonville in the second set responded back with a 25-17 victory of their own and pulled away specifically in the back end of the set. The Pioneers were up 15-13 in the second set and to close the set they went on a 11-4 run that led them to even the match.
A similar road map took place in the third set for the Pioneers as well. But, the first half of the set is when the Pioneers took control. They went on a 11-6 run, and after Tell City cut it down to a four point deficit (11-15), Boonville went on another 11-5 run to close.
Lastly, the Pioneers won the fourth set but the Marksmen did not go down without a fight. After being down 7-10, the Marksmen scored six straight to take a 13-10 lead. Momentum of the match started trending towards the Marksmen, but the Pioneers answered by taking a 14-13 lead. From there, the set went back and forth before Boonville edging out a 25-23 clincher.
Tell City’s head coach Dalonda Hayes on the match was very encouraged by battling a conference opponent in Boonville and this team felt like a team in her mind that was gelling.
“I told them at the end of the game that this is the first team I have had in a long time that gel,” Hayes said. “We never lost the energy. We stayed focused, played as a team, and we made a lot of young mistakes… But I was pleased with tonight even though I hate losing.”
Examples of players who Hayes was encouraged by included their defensive specialists, Cambree DuPont and Emme Hoesli. The two of them finished with 13 and 24 digs respectively.
Hayes also feels that they can learn from having to battle and seeing how everyone on the team chooses to respond.
“We easily could have went five sets tonight with varsity,” Hayes said. “I think someone like Olivia Stahly is a great leader for us.”
However, one player and making sure that one player gets the ball for scoring opportunities is not how this Marksmen team will need to play. Hayes believes that in order for this team to succeed, everyone will need to find their role.
“I told them that this is the first team we have had where we do not necessarily have a go-to person,” Hayes said. “We can’t go to a player 25 times… I think that will make us a better team because we will share the ball around. They just need to realize that they need to do their part… I am looking forward to this team.”
Stats to note
Kyleigh Embry and Elaina Embry finished with seven and four kills respectively
Olivia Stahly led the team with 12 assists and Ollie Toothman finished with six
Stahly and Hoesli each tallied three aces