Mustangs flip the result, emphatically

MOUNT VERNON - The venue of the rematch was nine miles away from the original. And so was the result.

Two days after dropping a match to its Highway 1 archrival, Class 3A 10th-rated Mount Vernon flipped the outcome on No. 9 Solon emphatically. The Mustangs swept the Wamac Conference East Division volleyball opener, 25-18, 25-21, 25-15, Thursday night at Mount Vernon High School.

'We told them to courage up, find a way and trust their teammates,” said Mustangs Coach Maggie Willems. 'And they did.”

The Mustangs (3-1 overall, 1-0 Wamac East) played second-fiddle to Solon at last year's state tournament, then dropped a best-of-3 match to the Spartans (1-2, 0-1) in a triangular Tuesday at Solon.

Thursday, though, was their night. No doubt about it.

'We played with confidence,” said junior hitter Wynne Vandersall. 'We had to pass in system to get the good matchups we wanted.”

The result was a balanced attack that translated to a 46-24 advantage in kills.

Vandersall led the way with 13; Kaitlyn Volesky and Katie Wycoff added 12 apiece.

'We made a minor adjustment,” Willems said. 'The middles worked with one setter at a time. We return a lot of experienced kids, a lot of coachable kids.”

Solon, meanwhile, was hit hard by graduation after claiming the 3A championship last year. The Spartans' new setter, Rachael Nelson, is a freshman.

'We struggled with our passing, but we're a young team,” said Solon Coach Peter Gustin. 'We're not worried about wins and losses at this point. Once (Nelson) gets comfortable, we're going to be a team that nobody wants to play when the (regional) pairings come out.”

Mount Vernon overcame slow starts in each of the first two sets. The Mustangs got down, 6-1, in the opener before scoring the next seven points, then eventually pulled away.

Solon got out to an 8-2 advantage in the middle set. Mount Vernon gained control late, with two kills by Wycoff triggering a 6-1 run that turned an 18-17 deficit into a 23-19 lead.

The Mustangs blew open the final with a 9-1 run that resulted in a 15-8 advantage.

Jenna Reimann collected 22 assists, Bailey Sullivan 15 for the winners. Grace Keith posted 12 kills for Solon; Nelson counted 22 assists.

MOUNT VERNON 3, SOLON 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15)

At Mount Vernon

Serving - Solon 53-56 (.946), Mount Vernon 67-72 (.931);

Aces - Solon 4 (Jess Heick 2), Mount Vernon 4 (Lily Dahlstrom 2); Kills - Solon 24 (Grace Keith 12), Mount Vernon 46 (Wynne Vandersall 13); Assists - Solon 23 (Rachael Nelson 22), Mount Vernon 39 (Jenna Reimann 22); Blocks - Solon 4 (four with 1), Mount Vernon 2 (two with 1).

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com