The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots got the Dylan Gehrke era started off on the right foot Thursday, Oct. 8. Under the guidance of the first-year head coach, the Patriots swept Mountain Lake Area, 3-0 to open the 2020 season.
“The nerves were definitely there for myself the night before and leading up to the game,” Gehrke said.
“I was telling the girls before the game and the practice the night before that it is OK to have nerves and a little bit of butterflies, but as soon as that first whistle happens, the fun begins and the nerves go away.”
Mountain Lake notched the first points in the opening set; however, it would be the last lead for them in the set.
The Patriots scored six straight points to open up a 6-1 lead. With the Patriots holding a 12-8 lead, they went on another run by scoring six straight points to take an 18-8 lead.
Hills-Beaver Creek went on to win the first set 25-18.
In the second set the Patriots never trailed and were able to withstand a few runs by Mountain Lake.
With the Patriots holding a 9-3 lead, Mountain Lake reeled off five straight points to trim the lead to 9-8.
Following a timeout from Gehrke, the Patriots scored the next three points to build a 12-8 lead. Mountain Lake mounted another rally with the Patriots holding a 24-17 lead and scored four straight points to trim the lead to 24-21.
That’s where the attempted comeback ended as the Patriots went on to win the second set 25-21 to take a 2-0 match lead.
“I thought the girls handled some adversity as well in games one and two,”Gehrke said. “Mountain Lake made a couple of runs and we had to battle back and finish the game.”
The third set was all Patriots. After conceding the first point of the set to Mountain Lake, the Patriots scored six straight points to take a 6-1 lead.
The Patriots won the third set 25-9 to complete the sweep. “In the last game we were able to keep the pedal to the floor and didn't let them go on a run,” Gehrke said. “That was fun to see.”
It may have been the first game of the season, but the Patriots looked to be in midseason form. They were 58-60 from the serving line and put the pressure on Mountain Lake the entire match.
“The girls played such an efficient game,” Gehrke said. “There were very few errors. Our serving was definitely the highlight of the night for us. We went 58-60, and 14 aces on the night is pretty awesome.”
Kenadie Fick finished the match with five kills and four aces. Taryn Rauk finished with six kills and three aces.
Annie Bos recorded 12 assists and two aces. Tess VanMaanen finished with two aces. Abbie Knobloch recorded five kills. Emma Kodet recorded two aces.
The Cardinals will go for their second win of the season at home on Tuesday, Oct. 13, against Red Rock Central. They’ll play their first road game of the season on Thursday, Oct. 15, against Edgerton.
HBC 25 25 25
MLA 18 21 9
Aces: K. Fick 4; Rauk 3; Boss 2; VanMaanen 2; Kodet 2
Kills: Rauk 6; K. Fick 5; Knobloch 5
Assists: Bos 12; VanMaanen 6
Digs: Knobloch 4; Kodet 3