The Hampton-Dumont-CAL volleyball team bounced back from a slow start, and gutted out a 3-2 win at St. Edmond in Thursday’s North Central Conference opener, as aired on 99 The Wave. In an improbable comeback, the Bulldogs won 8-25, 25-23, 25-20, 18-25, 15-12.
The Bulldogs came out flat in the first set, and gave up seven straight service aces to the Gaels at one point. But they rebounded in a close second set to tie the match at 1-1. In set 3, the Bulldogs pulled out to a lead and gained breathing room, though St. Edmond didn’t make it easy. In the fourth set, a nine-point run by the Gaels was the difference, allowing them to tie the match and send it to set 5. In the fifth set, the Bulldogs trailed 9-8, then it was 12-12. But after an attack error on the Gaels, middle hitter Maren Subbert recorded back-to-back kills to put it away.
Junior Madion Heilskov on how the team persevered.
“We knew we had to go right away, get going,” Heilskov says. “I think that really just helped us and pushed through. Everybody was really hyped after each point, coming through, block, excited, like kill, serves, everything mattered. And we just all came together as one and we made it happen.”
Head Coach Sarah Miller was pleased with the response after a slow start.
“That was actually really emotional,” Miller says. “How do you come back with a focused vision, a plan on how we’re gonna come back? Obviously we had to shut down the middle. Maren had those huge blocks, we made a couple changes. Sylvie was just all over the place. Elsie was making those plays, making everything last longer. But I think we really came together as a unit in set two. Obviously we let some emotion take away in set four and just kind of got out of rhythm, but the heart and just the unity that these girls did tonight was absolutely amazing. So proud of them.”
At 1-1 and 1-0 in conference play, the Bulldogs will return to action Thursday, September 11 by hosting Clarion-Goldfield-Dows.
