Volleyball: Sterling fires on all cylinders vs. Alleman

STERLING – The goal for the Sterling volleyball team in Tuesday’s night’s Western Big 6 match against Alleman was simple: limit the mistakes and have some fun.

The Golden Warriors had little problem accomplishing both of those, getting every player involved in a 25-2, 25-7 win at Musgrove Fieldhouse.

“We were just trying to play a clean game, not make any mistakes – or as few as we possibly can – and definitely try to have a lot of teamwork and try different stuff and just have fun,” senior middle Kierra Collins said.

“We came into it and just wanted to play with a lot of energy and do as much as we could,” fellow senior middle Macie Gebhardt added. “We wanted to keep it up and much as we could, and play at as high a level as we could.”

Sterling (15-1, 9-1 WB6) had just one error in the entire first set – a serve out of bounds – and finished the match with just two hitting errors and a lift.

The Warriors took control from the get-go, as Grace Egan and Riley Dittmar opened the first set with back-to-back kills. Egan had another kill to make it 7-1, then Brook Borum slammed consecutive kills for a 9-1 lead. Collins had a pair of kills around a Dittmar ace, and Bree Borum also got into the act with a kill.

Dittmar toed the service line at 13-2 and served out the set, adding another ace in the final points.

“Honestly, it’s really fun because we’re able to get things going pretty quickly,” Collins said, “and then help each other out so we can do different things and have fun and try different stuff. That’s definitely really important.”

Some of that different stuff was on display in the second set. Gebhardt’s kill tied it 1-1, then Brook Borum had a kill and back-to-back blocks on consecutive points, then slammed two more kills to make it 10-2.

Sterling’s next kill came from Egan off a Brook Borum assist, and Jordyn Bryant and Karmen Weinrich also got into the rotation. Bree Borum served two straight aces in her first time at the service line to make it 18-6, then Egan’s ace closed it out after five Alleman hitting errors in a six-point span.

“We’ve got a lot of good players, so it’s really nice to know that you can rely on anyone to be able to get the ball over and in bounds and down for a kill,” Gebhardt said. “It’s nice having such a well-rounded team to play with.

“I’m really excited for Senior Night; it’s going to be sad, though, to say goodbye to the rest of these awesome seniors at the end of the season.”

Brook Borum had six kills, two blocks and five digs, and Bree Borum added nine assists, nine digs, six points and two aces. Dittmar served for 16 points and two aces, and Amayia Hernandez added 12 points, five digs and two assists. Egan, the only non-senior in the main rotation, added three kills, five points and two aces.

Alleman libero Colleen Keney led the way with three kills, Kiley McConville spiked a kill, Avrie Schmidt stuffed a block, and Anne VanDeHeede set two assists.