Girls volleyball: Woodland overcomes slow start, tops Serena in straight sets

SERENA – Every coach has her own way to handle and speak with their players when things aren’t going according to plan.

Woodland girls volleyball coach Michelle Pitte faced that situation and called a timeout in the opening set of Tuesday’s match against host Serena with her squad looking sluggish and trailing by 10 points.

“We didn’t have practice on Monday, and it always seems like it’s in our heads that when we play Serena we are going to lose,” Pitte said. “I’m not sure where that came from, but has seemed the case the years I’ve been the coach.

“I’m not the kind of coach who is going to call a timeout when things are going bad and scream and yell. The girls know when I’m mad without that stuff, and down 10 points there I was mad. I just simply asked them all, ‘Do you want to play?’

“We were making errors on simple plays. We weren’t moving our feet, not communicating and not having each other’s backs. Those are all things we talk about and practice for two hours every night.”

Following the break, the Warriors bounced back for good to regroup for a 26-24, 25-21 victory over the Huskers.

Malayna Pitte paced Woodland with nine kills and a pair of blocks, with Grace Longmire adding six kills and a block. Jaylei Leininger had 10 service points, including two aces, Gabby Jacobs nine points and Ella Derossett two kills and 17 assists.

“I’m still trying to figure out who fits where in certain situations, especially in the back row,” Coach Pitte said. “Along with that, the girls are trying to figure out how to play together. We weren’t playing together to start tonight, but it seemed like after I took that timeout they all woke up and started playing like they are capable of.”

Serena was led by five kills each from Anna Hjerpe (nine points, two aces, seven digs), Kendall Whiteaker (two blocks, seven points, five aces) and Aubrey Duffy (four points, an ace, four digs). The Huskers also recieved solid matches from Macy Mahler (five assists, 10 digs), Rebekah Shugrue (six assists) and Jenna Setchell (two kills, a block, two digs).

Serena broke an early tie with a seven-point burst by Hjerpe, which included two aces and two of her own kills along with winning swings from Setchell and Whiteaker. Consecutive aces by Whiteaker and four Woodland errors pushed the hosts’ lead to 16-6.

The Warriors then used five-point runs by Jacobs and Leininger to tie the set at 24-all. From there, a double block and kill by Malayna Pitte closed out the comeback.

The second set was back-and-forth all the way with nine ties until the teams were knotted at 20-all. Woodland led 22-21 after each side committed errors before Malayna Pitte’s two kills in between a Serena hitting miscue.

“Our communication really broke down after a great start,” Serena coach Jennifer Shugrue said. “To start the match we were really on, everyone was talking, and everyone was doing their jobs. Then I’m not sure what happened, but we collectively stopped doing all of those things. Then I feel we started to get in our own heads way too much instead of letting a bad point go and moving on.

“This is just as much a mental game as physical. We just had trouble letting stuff go tonight. One bad point led to three more, or a bad hit led to a couple more. I felt like we were playing OK, but not together like the way I know we can. Also, credit Woodland’s middles. We haven’t seen a strong middle like they have this season yet, and I’m not sure we ever adjusted to how they were playing us.”

Woodland is back in action Wednesday at Cornerstone Christian; while Serena hosts Hiawatha in its Little Ten Conference opener Thursday.