As Blue Valley Northwest HS and Maize HS took the floor for the fourth game of the state tournament, an endless battle ensued for victory. Despite several exchanges in lead, BVNW managed to come out on top and improve their record to 2-0 in the tournament. With this win, the Huskies have landed a spot in the semi finals tomorrow.

BVNW head coach Molly Haggerty said the game went well, and though both teams traded points back in forth for the majority of the time, the Huskies stepped it up in order to regain control of the match.

“Really, it’s just our passers,” Haggery said. “That’s what’s so great about having eight seniors on the team. They know what their job is and they know when they need to regain focus. We called a time out when it was 15-15, and said, ‘Hey, we need to stop trading back and forth and take control of this match.’  They picked themselves up and started taking control of the match. And that’ s when we saw a little big different of a game.”

The Huskies gained an early lead in the first set, but around the 15-point mark, the Eagles began to catch up. BVNW called two time outs in order to calm them and regain confidence. While Maize kept the game close, BVNW came away with a win in the first set, 25-18.

“Our biggest thing was just confidence,” BVNW junior libero Rachel Chalupa said. “We knew that we wanted to win the game, and we knew that we had the motivation to do it. We had confidence in each other and we had confidence in ourselves. Everyone just did what they were supposed to do at important times and we pulled it out.”

Only returning two varsity members this season meant this year has been a rebuilding year for Maize, head coach Betsy Manning said. By starting off slow against the Huskies, the Eagles dug themselves into a hole they had a hard time bouncing back out of.

“The level of play that we face against BV schools and Shawnee Mission schools is just a lot faster than what we normally face in our region,” Manning said. “It always takes us a little bit of time to adjust too. There is just a lot of good talent and it was a good team. As much as I hate losing it was a talented team. Overall, I think we did OK.”

In the second head, Maize was careful not to allow the Huskies to big of a lead even though they never gained one themselves. According to BVNW senior right side hitter Joanne Maloney, the Huskies could have played better without getting into a slump, but they just needed to remind each other that this was a game that could land them in the semifinals. This strategy worked, and BVNW took the second set, 25-18.

“I’d say just knowing and being able to count down, ‘Hey we’ve got eight points until we make semi finals, hey we’ve got seven points until we make semi finals,’ really helped us,” Haggerty said. “Just looking over at the bench and looking at the faces of the girls on the floor as they just kept getting closer and closer. Having that full team concentration of knowing that we are accomplishing goals that we set at the beginning of the season.”

Both Maloney and Chalupa agree the team needs to work on blocking and serve receive. As long as the Huskies keep up their overall energy, Chalupa said they will do fine in the following games.

“We just have to stay confident in our team and know that we have the ability to do it,” Maloney said. “We’re here for a reason.”

While Manning believes her team was aggressive and served well, the defense was what cost them so many points. BVNW hit the line well, and the Eagles struggled to defend it.

“It’s tough for us because when we play around our area, we run a completely different defense,” Manning said. “We’ll run our A defense for 90 percent of the season, and then for the last week we have to try and run a new defense just for state. Win or lose, to be able to come here and play good volleyball is what it’s all about. I love the game, and if we have to adjust to make it work, then so be it.”

Maize went on to play Manhattan in the following game, and defeated them in three close sets. According to Manning, this was the highlight of the night for her.

“I was just so proud of my girls to come back after losing two games, to come back and show that they still had some fight and some heart to win in three games against Manhattan,” Manning said.

The Huskies played BVHS next, and Haggerty said she believed this game would be the toughest match at state. BVNW has faced the Tigers three times already this season, and will need to get passed the mental block that is a result of having yet to defeat BVHS.

“”We just need to find a way around that mind set of, ‘Oh, we’re not supposed to beat them,’” Haggerty said. “We know we can beat them. We just need to go out and do it. They’re going to come pushing back at us, and we need to do what we do. Passing, serving tough, and finding a way to stop their big hitters.”

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Nicole Tenold