Volleyball: Princeton regroups after slow start to top Bureau Valley

PRINCETON – The Princeton Tigresses looked a little out of sorts in the first set of Tuesday’s Three Rivers Conference East Division volleyball match with rival Bureau Valley, playing in a 5-1 lineup rather than their customary 6-2 without junior setter Caitlin Meyer, who was injured Monday.

Between sets, after losing the opener, 25-18, Meyer proved to coach Andy Puck she was good to go and returned to action to share setting duties with sidekick Natasha Faber-Fox.

Meyer’s return proved to be just the spark Princeton needed, rallying for 25-20 and 25-18 decisions to take the match over the Storm.

“We had a setter go down last night” Puck said. “We haven’t had time to practice or prepare without a setter other than being in the wrestling room and going through rotations. We rolled the dice and put it together.”

Puck said he wanted to be cautious with Meyer and held her out the first game.

“One game is a game, but a season is a season. I didn’t want her to hurt herself anymore,” he said. “But she proved to me in warmups and running [behind the bench] she was OK. We went back to our bread-and-butter rotation there in the second set. It was a little different. But we seemed comfortable and a little more confident, and we were able to rally around each other.”

The Tigresses (4-7, 3-1) began to show life at the end of the first game, falling behind 21-9 before charging back with six straight points to make more of a game of it.

Princeton senior Olivia Gartin said that little charge was important going into the second game.

“It’s hard whenever we’re losing. But when we start to feel how we play good, we come back and kick butt and that’s what we did. We kept the momentum going,” she said.

Princeton ran out to leads of 12-7 and 17-12 in the second game. The Storm got within 24-20 before Gartin finished it off with one of her match-high 15 kills.

“Olivia has really become a senior leader and captain that leads by example,” Puck said.

Bureau Valley (5-11, 2-2) could never regain its first-game success in the third set either. A hit by Chrissy Sierens, a soft hit by Morgan Foes and an ace by Faber-Fox sent the Tigresses to a 15-11 lead.

Gartin knocked down another kill to make it 19-15 that Mike Puck, the coach’s dad, exclaimed, “Yes, that’s a nice time to go down the line.”

The Storm were penalized for serving out of rotation, a ruling with which coach Caitlyn DeMay disagreed.

DeMay, however, said it was the Storm’s six service errors in the third game, including three late, that cost them more than the penalty.

“It’s not going to make or break the game,” DeMay said. “We shouldn’t have made the mistakes we made. So we move on and move forward.”

Lily Keutzer hit to make it 24-18, and BV was whistled for being in the net for match point.

Gartin said it was a good win, calling it “very personal,” against the rival Storm, and saying, “I’m glad we won.”

Leaders for Princeton were many. Fox (16 digs), Lily Keutzer (6 kills) and Isa Ibarra (6 digs) each had nine points while Sierens had four kills and Morgan Richards and Foes had three kills each.

“This is an inexperienced team I have,” Puck said. “The more nights like this the better even though we’re learning how to compete and how to win.”

Bureau Valley leaders were Kate Salisbury (18 assists, 9 digs), Keely Lawson (7 kills), Ella Thacker (4 kills, 6 digs), Emma Stabler (3 kills, 4 digs, 4 points 1 ace), Annabelle Myong (10 points, 3 aces), Alaina Wasilewski (5 kills, 3 blocks) and Nikki Kerber (6 digs).

Bureau Valley came out hot in the first set, scoring five points straight to take a 15-8 lead and riding a five-point string by Myong with four aces to go up 21-9.

Sophomore Kelsea Klingenberg answered with a five-point string of her own for the Tigresses, including back-to-back aces, and the help of three straight Gartin hits to rally within 22-17.

BV closed out the 25-18 win on a kill by Mallory Endress.

Notes: BV won the sophomore match, 25-16, 25-21, while Princeton took the freshmen match, 25-17, 25-18. The Bureau County rivals will meet again Oct. 4 at the Storm Cellar.