In a battle of unbeaten teams at Northfield on Wednesday, the Mississinewa Indians were hoping to keep their momentum going after a 7-0 start, which included impressive five-set triumphs over Eastern and Western and a first place finish in the Elwood Invitational.
However, behind a slow start in the first set and an inability to close out the final two, the Indians suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the Norse in a sweep (11-25, 25-27, 20-25).
“It was a disappointing night,” Missisissinewa Head Coach Jody Havens said. “You always want to bring your game and you want to play it from the first point to the last point. The letdowns we had tonight were unacceptable. That should have been a great match. Win or lose, it should have gone further than it did.”
The Indians held a seven-point advantage in the second set and a five-point lead in the third, but each time, the Norse had an answer, using their stout core of Addi Baker, Kenzie Baer, Kyra Kennedy, and Abigail Hunter to turn the tide in their favor.
Baker finished the match with 13 kills to lead all players, while Baer and Kennedy combined for 10 terminations. Along with her five kills, Hunter orchestrated the Northfield offense with 23 assists.
“This isn’t a group that usually can’t handle pressure,” Havens said. “That’s actually something they have successfully demonstrated this season. They have a couple of strong hitters, and I think that shock and awe is more of a momentum stealer for us.”
Northfield came out strong, building a 9-5 lead early and increasing that advantage to 18-8 with a 12-3 run. Mississinewa managed to score just three more points in the opening set.
The Indians came out swinging in the second set. A kill and two blocks from Darah Watson, combined with multiple errors by the Norse, helped the Indians build a 13-7 lead. After the Norse scored four straight points to cut Mississinewa’s lead to two, a 5-0 run for the Indians put them back in control.
Later, back-to-back kills from Watson, together with a termination from Mackenzie Alexander, gave the Indians a 23-16 lead. However, the Norse came roaring back, outscoring the Indians 11-3 the rest of the way to win 27-25.
The third set was a near carbon copy of the second. Four kills from Carly Bolser helped Mississinewa build a 15-10 lead midway through the set, but Northfield put together another rally, outscoring the Indians 15-5 to close out the contest, which included a 5-0 surge to tie it at 18-18 and the final four points of the match.
“We struggled to mentally regain our focus,” Havens said. “[If we] make an error, we have to move on instead of letting it compile into two and three and allow a run that eventually takes the lead from us.”
Bolser led the Indians’ offense with 10 kills, while Jazzy Nicholson recorded 13 assists. Sophie Corey collected three digs on Mississinewa’s back row, while Nicholson and Katy Hosier each recorded one assist.
While Havens was disappointed in her team’s loss despite playing well for most of the final two sets, she is still encouraged at how well the Indians have performed in the season’s early stages.
“I thought the struggles early, especially when we were dealing with some injuries and some internal issues, I did think we would come out a little slower, maybe a little rockier,” Havens said. “But I’m very impressed with how driven this group of kids are. Whether it’s in practice or a game, they have the fight in them.”
While their record no longer remains unblemished, Thursday’s match gave Havens, and the team, a glimpse of what they need to work on going forward.
“We have to be able to make adjustments with our block and still be able to make adjustments defensively on the fly,” Havens said. “We are not really reading hitters or setters quite yet, but we will get there. They are making progress, but there is still room for improvement.”
