Kuemper rallies in win over Glenwood
Glenwood jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Hawkeye 10 Conference leading Kuemper Catholic but couldn’t hold off a Knights rally in a 25-22, 25-21, 25-27, 11-25, 8-25 loss on the road in Hawkeye 10 Conference volleyball in Carroll Tuesday.
Glenwood coach Paula Carman said her team came out blazing perhaps surprising Kuemper those first two sets.
“The girls did a fabulous job pressing and pushing and keeping them off balance and I think Kuemper got out of synch, and we did a good job taking advantage of that,” Carman said.
The Rams (11-18 overall, 1-5 in the conference) led for much of set three but the Knights (26-4, 6-0 in the conference) battled and escaped with the 27-25 win to flip the momentum.
“In game three, we couldn’t quite finish it,” Carman said. “We fought ourselves a little too much in that third one and we lost the momentum and that drive and leadership we needed to keep that momentum going. We struggled the last two sets after that.”
Carman stopped short of saying the first two sets against Kuemper were the best volleyball her team has played this season.
“We’ve played some really good matches against good competition we played competitively,” she said. “Indianola was a really tough team and I thought we competed really well. And I think we competed well against Lewis Central and in some tournaments. Even though our record doesn’t show it, we’re competing against people. We played right up there with Kuemper, and I was really proud of how the girls did what we needed to do and stuck to the game plan.”
The Rams’ attack did have a sharp night. They hit .127 as a team with 43 kills. Maddie Roenfeld led the way with 13 kills. Ilsa Kemling added 10 kills and Zoie Carda nine.
Setters Allison Koontz and McKenna Koehler had 17 and 22 set assist each, respectively.
Kuemper was led by Kaci Peter’s 14 kills and Sophie Badding’s 11 kill.
The Rams had a six-day break before hosting a Hawkeye 10 Conference triangular last night against Council Bluffs St. Albert and Harlan. Results of those matches will appear in the next edition.
But Carman sees the hiatus as a bit of a double-edged sword at this point in the season.
“I do think it’s OK to kind of go back to the drawing board a little bit,” Carman said. “Last night was a huge match and a long match. So, a lot of kids got swings and reps so I’m kind of okay with giving them some time.
“But I do want to get back in there and get after the competitiveness we’re trying to find right now. We’re looking for that magic button that we can push and get everybody on the same page, and everybody goes hard 110-percent all the time without playing scared.”
Glenwood heads out on the road Thursday for a conference match at Denison.