Sterling starts hot, but can’t hold off Moline

STERLING – Playing their first match without star Grace Egan, the Sterling Golden Warriors came out with fire in their eyes for their Western Big 6 opener on Thursday at Musgrove Fieldhouse.

They took control of the first set, but couldn’t keep it up as Moline seized the momentum early in the second set on its way to a 17-25, 25-15, 25-17 win.

[ Photos from Sterling vs. Moline volleyball ]

Sterling (4-3-2, 0-1 WB6) is adjusting on the fly after Egan injured her knee in warmups before Tuesday’s match against Rockford Lutheran, and they were amped up to start strong against the defending conference champs.

“We had the biggest game plan, and we were all doing it for Grace,” junior hitter Sienna Stingley said. “We laid it all out on the line that first set. I wish we would’ve continued that in the second and third set, and we did, for the most part, but they had a different game plan. We were still fighting, though. I was proud of us.”

Egan had an MRI on Thursday and is awaiting an official diagnosis, but is keeping her spirits up and trying to help her team from the sideline.

The initial shell shock of losing such a key player has faded a bit, but the Warriors know it will be a process that will take some time. However, both Stingley and sophomore setter Delali Amankwa are confident that the team will rally around each other and keep fighting.

“It’s a huge adjustment, but we’re working through it,” Stingley said. “We’re leaning on each other, and Grace is there for us all the time, helping us out, giving us tips. We’re all just being one big family. We were hit with huge adversity so suddenly, so we’re really just trying to work through that.”

“It’s a lot of change, but everybody’s stepping up and playing their position, and that’s really going to help us,” Amankwa added. “I think we can be really successful. We love Grace, but I think we can still be a really successful team if we just do our jobs. With everybody stepping up and doing their job, and just staying as a team and playing together, we’ll be fine.”

That was on full display in the first set. Early kills by Katie Dittmar, Olivia Melcher and Stingley made it 4-3 Sterling, then a Moline hitting error gave the Warriors a sideout at 7-6. Dittmar spiked another kill, then Melcher stuffed a block of an overpass before yet another Dittmar kill gave Sterling a 12-7 lead.

A Melcher tip-kill and a Dittmar ace made it 17-9, then Stingley stuffed a block and Kathryn Rowzee rolled a kill for a 21-10 margin.

“Just creating our own energy was key, and the student section really helped get us fired up, too,” Amankwa said about the hot start. “I think we moved past our errors really well; we didn’t dwell on them, we just moved past them and kept playing our own game.”

Moline fought back, with Caylee Brandes sandwiching a block between two kills to cut the deficit to 21-13. But Julia Thormeyer served an ace for Sterling, and a Moline hitting error ended the first set a couple of points later.

Brandes set the tone for the Maroons (3-3, 1-0) early in the second set, reeling off four straight aces before a block and a kill by Bella Skeffington gave Moline an 8-1 lead. Rowzee and Stingley had kills around a spike by Moline’s Madelyn Determan, but a block by Samantha Veto and consecutive aces by Darien Sanders pushed the lead to 15-6.

Rowzee had a kill, then Thormeyer’s free ball landed for another Sterling point, and the Warriors got within 16-10. But a kill by Anna Hazen gave Moline a sideout, and Brandes followed with a kill and two more aces to push the margin to 20-11. Kills by Veto and Brandes and a Sterling hitting error ended the second set.

“Serving was huge, and I think it definitely helped getting that seven-point lead in the beginning of the second set,” Brandes said. “That lead just makes you feel more comfortable, and it’s OK if you miss a point or two because you’re still fine. But we still have to just keep using that ‘next ball’ mindset.”

Sterling led 5-3 in the third set after a Stingley kill, but two more aces by Brandes bookended a run of two kills by Skeffington, another from Lucy Irvine, then a Brandes kill from the back row to make it 9-5 Moline.

Stingley stuffed a block, then Thormeyer served an ace and the Warriors trailed just 11-9, but a Veto kill, another Brandes kill, an ace by Kaiah Boudi, and two Sterling hitting errors made it 16-9 Maroons. Dittmar spiked a kill to stop that mini-run, but Moline answered with a kill by Veto, back-to-back aces by libero Megan DePoorter, then kills from Brandes and Determan to answer a Stingley spike to make it 21-11 Moline.

Stingley and Rowzee had kills around a spike by Moline’s Skeffington, but that was the last gasp for Sterling before the Maroons closed it out.

“I think we just have to have that mindset knowing that we have to work for the ball, we have to put the ball away, because Sterling’s a great team, and they will capitalize on our errors or any easy hits, so we just had the mindset that we had to put the ball down every time,” Brandes said. “I think the first set, that whole pregame presentation they had kind of freaked us out, and we always have a target on our back. We didn’t drop a set [in conference matches] last season, so we felt like we had to do it again, and that kind of got to us.

“But then we got fired up in the huddle, told each other we were not going to lose this match, and it showed up on the court.”

Stingley had four kills and three blocks, Dittmar spiked four kills, added six digs and served an ace, and Rowzee led the way with five kills for Sterling. Amankwa had 11 assists and eight digs, Melcher added five digs, five points, two kills and a block, and Emma Smith had five digs and seven points. Thormeyer finished with four digs, four points and two aces, and Aubri Menchaca chipped in eight digs and three points for the Warriors.

“I’m just glad that we worked together to get the points that we did tonight,” Stingley said. “We’re going to continue that in practice, work even harder, and keep our attitudes up. We’re just going to keep fighting, and we’re not going to lay down easily.”

Brandes had 13 points, eight aces, eight kills, 11 digs and a block for the Maroons, and Determan had four kills and four blocks. Veto finished with five kills and two blocks, and Skeffington added five kills and a block. Gabrielle Tertipes had 12 assists, six points and an ace, Ayla Jenkins dished 10 assists, and DePoorter led the way with 14 digs and two aces.

“I think coming in, this is a super-intimidating gym to play in, but once we kind of got our nerves settled a little bit, we fought back and we figured it out,” Moline coach Jenna Laxton said. “I think a lot of it was that the girls were super-focused, they were mad they lost the first set, they wanted to shut the superfans up, and that was kind of them turning it on and not looking back, just going for it.”