Winning streak helps Panthers volleyball get season back on track
- Jeremy Schneider
- Sep 27, 2024
- 2 min read
By JEREMY SCHNEIDER
IMA SPORTS
Last week’s win over Rossford served as a sort of microcosm for the entire volleyball season for Maumee.
Much like they started the season, the Panthers came out slow and shaky, losing the first set but as they have this season, they rallied to top the Bulldogs, 3-1, in a Northern Buckeye Conference match.
Maumee started this season 2-5 overall; since then, it’s won five of its last seven matches to sit at 7-7 overall and 5-3 in the NBC.
Heading into the season, Maumee coach Lindsay Vannett knew it could be a rocky start, with plenty of new faces trying to learn new roles.
“People are starting to understand their roles,” Vannett said. “Our volleyball IQ is going up, so we’re starting to anticipate things a little better, whereas before we were reactionary and it was making us late. We’re moving a little better to it because we know what’s happening.”
After losing the first set, 20-25, Maumee tore through the next three sets, 25-21, 25-18 and 25-11.
Autumn Draper had 15 kills and four blocks, and Kennedi King added seven kills and five blocks.
“We’ve been able to run our middle (hitters) because we’re getting better passes off serve receive and defense,” Vannett said. “It allows our pins to open up, which opens up our whole offense.”
The Panthers serving percentage was near 97 percent against the Bulldogs, with 11 aces. Julia Coutcher and Brooke Kwiatkowski each had three aces, and Sydney Genot and King had two apiece.
Improving their serving was a focus for Vannett, and so far, it’s working. Maumee has 110 aces and is serving at a 94 percent rate. Genot has 32 aces, Kwiatkowski has 31, and King has 22.
“We can’t rely on offense, we have to be offensive on the end line and the net,” Vannett said.
The first-set loss against Rossford came down to two factors for Vannett — errors and not matching the Bulldogs’ energy.
“Rossford came at us,” Vannett said. “They had a lot of energy, putting in full-out energy. They weren’t letting any point get away without putting in max effort. They were winning the effort points, and it deflated us.
“I told them, ‘You’re allowing them to beat on that, along with all the other things that were going wrong on our side.’”
Once they won the second set, though, the Panthers checked in and were ready to compete.
“That kind of settled us, and then we took advantage and went after them,” Vannett said. “We can’t sit, we have to be ready for everything.”
Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers
Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com
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