Volleyball: Serena tops Hall in three sets for first win of the season

SERENA – When two teams are evenly matched, sometimes a strong push makes the difference.

That was the case in Thursday night’s volleyball match between Hall and Serena on Al Stegman Court.

Midway into the deciding third set, The Huskers used a key 10-point service run by senior Paisley Twait, aided by four kills from sophomore Kendall Whiteaker, to increase a two-point advantage, then hung on as the Red Devils closed to within striking distance over the final few points to earn a 25-18, 20-25, 25-21 victory.

“We were so much stronger with our blocks and our swings than we were in our first two matches to start the season,” Serena coach Jennifer Shugrue said, her team now 1-2 on the season. “I also thought we did a much better job in our coverage around our attacks, while also covering the open spots in the back line. Spacing and covering the floor was probably the main thing we’ve struggled with, and tonight I thought we really did well.”

“Everyone is going to have their strong nights, but it’s the girls understanding that even when you’re not having a strong night you can still do the little things that can make a difference in the outcome. That was the case tonight.”

—  Jennifer Shugrue, Serena volleyball coach

Twait led Serena with nine kills, a block, two aces and 15 points. Whiteaker posted a team-best 10 kills, seven in the third set, with Makayla McNally registering three kills, two blocks and two aces. Setter Macy Mahler passed for 23 assists and 14 digs, while libero Hannah McNelis had 15 digs.

“Hall has some really strong swingers, passers and defenders, so it was important for us tonight to be in the right spots each and every point. I felt like our defense improved as the match went along,” Shugrue said. “Our team is built on having to have a collective effort to succeed. Everyone is going to have their strong nights, but it’s the girls understanding that even when you’re not having a strong night you can still do the little things that can make a difference in the outcome. That was the case tonight.”

Serena closed out the back-and-forth opening set with a winning swing from Maddie Glade and a block and kill off an overpass by Twait.

In the second set, Hall (0-2) used an eight-point serving burst by Cecilia Verucchi and kills from Morgan Hoscheid, Mya McLaughlin and Kennedy Wosniak to push out to a 13-7 lead. With the set tied at 19, a kill by Ella Sterling, a block and kill from McLaughlin, and winners from Wozniak and Haylie Pellegrini helped close out the set and send the match to a deciding third set.

Hoscheid and Sterling each finished with seven kills, while Wozniak (nine digs) had five kills and McLaughlin four. Verucchi posted three aces and 15 service points, Taylor Coutts 16 assists and 14 points, with Pellegrini and Evey Meyer each recording 11 digs.

“We fell into a slump and had some miscommunication during that [Twait serving] stretch which was unfortunate,” Hall coach Carolyn Foster said. “But despite the overall outcome tonight, these girls have come so far since last season and we’re only going up. I feel like we’ve played very well these first two matches, fought to the end, never gave up, but just weren’t able to finish them out. This was a fun match to be a part of, even though we came up a little short.

“Our serving and our defense were amazing tonight. We missed nine serves in our first match and only one tonight. It seemed like our back row was digging up everything for long stretches. We have three girls all fighting for that libero position, and tonight was another case where it didn’t matter which of the three – Ellie Brooks, Evey Meyer, and Cecilia Verucchi – were in that spot because they all played great. Ella Sterling also had a really nice match at the net for us.”