HESPERIA – A battle between two relatively young teams saw Hart volleyball dispatch Hesperia in three sets Tuesday, Oct. 1.
While the night ultimately leaned heavily in favor of the Pirates, the first set between Hart and Hesperia was a gritty battle that saw several long rallies. Hart’s early lead proved to be a difference-maker. Every time the Panthers battled back, Hart had a run in response that kept the Panthers at arm’s length.
Late in that first set, Hart owned a 23-15 lead, but watched it slowly dissolve to 23-19. The Pirates were able to capitalize on mistakes from the Panthers in the end, adding two additional points to take a 25-19 win and 1-0 set advantage.
“Watching them play hard like that is always so fun,” Hesperia Head Coach Alyx Beachum said. “We’re working on taking that energy and carrying it through each and every set, and not getting tired. They’re not used to having to press through for three or more sets.”
The second set was much less of a fight from Hesperia. After taking a 2-0 lead initially, the Panthers quickly fell behind, allowing Hart to jump in front at 8-6. The Pirates continued to pour points onto their lead, moving to 20-11.
Frustration started to show on Hesperia’s sideline as a ball on Hart’s side of the court seemed to touch the floor, but the officials allowed play to continue. The Panthers were forced into two timeouts during that second set, trying their best to gain any sort of footing. In the end, the second set landed in favor of the Pirates, 25-14.
“We’re a young team with only two seniors,” Beachum said. “With that young team, we just want to improve so that we can come out next year even stronger than we are now. We’ve just got to focus on the little things, working in practice and putting that into games.”
The third and final set served as a formality as Hart jumped out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back, ending the night with a 25-11 win in that set and a 3-0 win overall.
“I’m not disappointed in how we played,” Beachum said. “We’re making small gains in every game that we’re playing. Even when we lose, parents are saying ‘whoa, you’re really taking these girls far,’ and we’re just looking to improve.”
Hart’s win was even more impressive, considering the changes they were forced to make with senior middle hitter Brynn Russell sidelined with illness. The Pirates turned to exchange student Sarah Kranz in that spot.
A number of Pirates showed poise at the service line, with four going over 90 percent and two having a perfect night. Alayna Schiller had seven aces, two assists, one kill and 10 digs. Kelsey Copenhaver recorded seven digs, six kills, five aces and four assists while Reese Smith had 13 digs, six kills and one ace.
Hart improved to 16-6-1 overall with the win and is now 2-2 in the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division.
