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PrintHickman’s girls’ volleyball team continues to build confidence and continues to win.
The Kewpies stayed undefeated Monday with a 25-14, 25-11 win against Eldon at Hickman.
Hickman coach Greg Gunn said he feels the team’s continued success comes from the Kewpies’ (19-0) belief in themselves.
“They’re really confident, they know they can win, they know they can play well,” Gunn said. “We’re not scared of anybody, but I told them today before we went out there, ‘Don’t look past anybody, any given team can win on any given night.’”
Williams said success gives Kewpies a goal
Kendra Williams said the Kewpies success has motivated the team.
“There’s a lot of pressure,” Williams said. “We don’t want to give anybody the pleasure of saying, ‘We beat the undefeated Hickman.’ So it gives us a goal and pushes us to do good.”
Hickman led 12-4 in the second game before the Mustangs called timeout. Gunn then switched the Kewpies’ lineup, replacing senior setter Danielle Newton with junior Krystal Stone and senior Veronica Smith with junior Melody Mallicoat.
Paige Ely said that switching the lineup helps the Kewpies get used to playing with each other.
“When we’re doing pretty good, we’ll put the other players on the court to rotate through,” Ely said. “So everybody gets comfortable playing everybody. That helps when Alex (Ristow) went down and Kendra had to step in. So now we have confidence if anybody has to go in.”
Eldon took advantage and closed to within 14-8 and 17-11 before Hickman finished the match with eight straight points. Williams had three kills in the run and Brenna Schlader had a block. The match ended with Colleen McDevitt hitting into the net.
Williams led the Kewpies with five kills. Smith, Schlader, Paige Ely and Naomi Tesfamikael each had four kills. Schalder also had three blocks. Newton led Hickman with 11 assists, while Stone had four.
Gunn said that Williams is good replacement for an injured Ristow
“She’s done a great job,” Gunn said. “Every once in a while she gets a little unsure of herself. But once she gets confident and goes after the ball, she can pound it.”
Hickman also had a quick start in the first game, leading 5-1 before an Eldon timeout. The Kewpies scored four straight points after a Kiesha Daulton block tied the score at 1. In the run, Eldon had four hits and Sarah Cox was called for being in the net.
The Mustangs earned a tie at 11, before Hickman resumed control with four straight points and ended the game on a 14-3 run. Ely retruned the led to the Kewpies with a tip, Schlader then had a kill off an Eldon pass. After a Smith kill, Schlader again had a kill off a Mustangs pass.
The match was not without controversy. With Hickman leading 19-14 in the first game, McDevitt had an apparent kill when the officials called the ball hit the floor.
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