DALEVILLE, IND - Delta traveled to Daleville last night looking to bounce back from a road loss against Yorktown three nights ago. The Eagles avenged that loss, and more, tonight sweeping the previously undefeated Broncos.
Delta head coach Kylie Johnson was happy with the teamwork her team displayed, something the Eagles have been working on improving so far this season. From starters to the bench, everyone had a hand in the win.
“I think that we are just playing cohesively,” she said. “Tonight, we were very fortunate that every single player on the bench had a role too. Everybody played and everyone contributed. That makes winning so much more fun.”
Daleville got out to a quick start in the first set forcing the Eagles to take a timeout down 9-5. Johnson kept the same message for her team throughout the night; play together.
“I loved what we did tonight,” she said. “They’re their biggest supporters so I think when you have team chemistry like that, it makes for a very fun night.”
Daleville controlled a majority of the first set. With a 22-18 lead, Delta took another timeout. The Eagles have been working on limiting mistakes and turning those errors into points. Johnson thinks her squad did just that tonight.
“We have been working so hard on cutting down our errors,” she said. “We’re finally getting to see the fruits of our labor because we’ve worked so hard. We had low errors and high chemistry and things clicked for us to finish out the first [set].”
Delta built off that momentum into the second set. Senior Addie Phillippe was again the backbone of the Delta team tonight and propelled her team through the night as the lone senior Eagle.
“We only have one senior now,” Johnson said. “She is definitely the boss out there. I see her getting on the young girls, not negatively ever, but always takes charge. That is what we need to happen and I love it because we have been wanting her to be that servant out there. They respect her because she is kind hearted when she dishes out feedback. I think she has the best kind of leadership.”
During the second set, Daleville senior Cassidy Rees reached a milestone for her career. Rees topped 1,000 career assists and the gym erupted for her accomplishment, but Rees thanks her teammates for everything.
“I think it shows how able our hitters are to terminate the ball,” she said. “Our passers are obviously giving me the passes I need to get my hitters the set they need. I think it just shows how our team works together.”
The second set was all Delta. From start to finish, they held the lead and took the set with a convincing 25-15 score. Daleville head coach Gayle Hicks praised the effort of the Eagles tonight and was happy with how her 1A team hung with the 3A squad.
“Well they’re just an extremely strong team,” she said. “All of Delaware County is really strong and it’s a battle every night. The fact we almost took the first from them and we were able to hang this early in the season, we can only go up from here. I kept telling them not to get down, we have to rally back and stay up with the highs and not get frustrated.”
Daleville did just that going into the third, giving Delta a scare taking an early lead. The Eagles yet again came fighting back taking a 14-11 lead and forcing a Daleville timeout. Delta excelled from the serve line and controlled the match from there to take 25-21 victory.
“We got off slow in the third [set],” Johnson said. “We just kept talking about our errors and told the girls we can take on anybody when we limit mistakes. I think a big thing for us tonight was controlling the serve and receive game. If we control there then most of the time we can get a free ball, down ball and not a big swing coming at us. We had great defense so if we do get a swing I’m confident in our ability to defend that.”
Despite the loss, Coach Hicks praised the efforts of her team early this season.
“We’re off to a great start,” she said. “We’re a well-rounded team and everybody plays their part and they played great tonight. For us to hang with a big school like that, I’m really happy with us and our efforts tonight even if the girls are upset.”
Daleville will take a break for Labor Day weekend and return for a home match against Seton Catholic September 4th. Delta will take a similar break and return for a home match against conference foe Greenfield-Central September 3rd.
Contact Logan Connor via email logan.connor@bsu.edu or on X @_loganconnor.
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