The Delaware County volleyball tournament began tonight at Wapahani High School. After the opening round of action, Wapahani advanced to play Wes-Del Saturday, Oct. 5 at 11 a.m. Yorktown topped Delta in the second match and will also play Saturday, facing Daleville at 12:45 p.m. The winners of those will then play for the county championship Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Game One: Cowan at Wapahani
Wapahani and Cowan opened the action at Raider Gymnasium. The host Raiders swept the Blackhawks and held control through most of the match.
Raiders head coach Valorie Wells was pleased with her team limiting mistakes tonight en route to a victory.
“I thought we executed well and limited mistakes,” Wells said. “We played more up at our level instead of playing down. I thought we really got it done in the first and third sets.”
While the Raiders won the contest 3-0, Wells felt like there was still room for improvement going into the semifinal round.
“I think we need to learn to score on free balls,” Wells said. “Anytime someone gives us a free, we need to terminate it and make them hurt. We had times where we didn’t score on the free ball and it gave them points tonight. So we talked about that a lot tonight, scoring on free balls and not letting those get away.”
Wells also noted her team’s ability to play as one and play the game as a whole team. She felt like that trait will help them win big games down the road.
“I always tell all of our hitters to be ready to hit no matter where you’re at,” she said. “[Senior] Sophia [Beeson] made a nice save tonight and our right side was ready to attack and she scored. I just preach to them to always be ready and always have confidence in yourself because I trust them to be out there and to score points for us. I really tell our setters to keep mixing it up because everyone can score.”
Before the Raiders face the Warriors, Wells and her team know what they need to do in order to make it back to the county championship: be consistent.
“The biggest thing for us Saturday will be staying consistent and staying clean,” she said. “We need to play our game. After every timeout or discussion we talk about how we play our game. It starts with energy, talk, positivity and consistency. We have to keep momentum and play the game we know we can play.”
Game Two: Delta at Yorktown
The second match of the night fell into a similar pace as the first. Yorktown got out of the gates quick in the first set and settled into the second. The Tigers held on after a Delta rush in the second and dominated the third set to sweep the Eagles.
Yorktown head coach Stephanie Bloom was happy that her team was able to push through and win. According to her, the lost focus in the second set led to a learning moment for the Tigers.
“It’s always nice to win in the county tourney,” she said. “Feel good about that win but I think we might have lost some focus in the second set. I think they came out really dialed in the third set though and were ready to go.”
With the struggle in the second, she was happy to see her team re-focus on their game. Taking care of the things that matter to them and playing their game was a focal point for the Tigers and will be moving forward.
“I think I want us to focus on our side and take care of things we need to take care of,” she said. “I want us to care a lot about being smart and playing sharp. I would like to see us encompass those qualities more.”
According to Bloom, Yorktown and Delta rivalry has been a heated one in recent years. With her being a Yorktown graduate and the head coach for the Tigers since 2008, she is all too familiar with the tough love between the two schools.
“Maybe for our kids,” she said. “I think for sure, Yorktown vs. Delta is a huge rivalry and it is always nice to beat the blue and gold. So, yes, I think it feels extra nice for us to beat them.”
Moving forward, the Tigers and coach Bloom know they need to be disciplined. Although a tough battle, discipline is what makes the good teams great according to Bloom.
“I think when I called that timeout [in the second], I got into them a little bit about just going through the motions,” she said. “I had to remind them what we needed to focus on and what we’re about and doing that all the time.
“I told them this is why it’s hard to be great, because it takes discipline and discipline is doing it even when you don’t feel like it. We work through that every day in our gym and need to translate that to match night.”
Contact Logan Connor via email at logan.connor@bsu.edu or via X @_loganconnor.
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