On a back-and-forth night filled with extended rallies, thunderous kills and spectacular saves, Allen Community College’s volleyball team had the final answer Wednesday.
The Red Devils seized momentum in the waning moments of the fifth and decisive set, scoring four of the final five points to win the tiebreaker, and the match.
“It was a good team win,” Allen head coach Whitney Shaw said of the 3-2 victory over Coffeyville. “It was a little up and down at times, but people stepped up and contributed when we needed them to.”
The fifth set was knotted at 11-11 when Allen’s Andrea Maldonado simply volleyed the ball gently over the net, instead of setting up an outside hitter for a potential kill.
The changeup did precisely what it was intended to do, catching the Raven defenders off guard. They were unable to return the volley, giving Allen the 12-11 advantage. Allen’s final three points all came when Coffeyville could not return volleys inbounds.
“At the end of the day, 2-0 in conference is better than 1-1,” Shaw chuckled.
The match was set up to be a barnburner.
Allen narrowly missed out on winning the first set. The Red Devils were unable to secure the crucial 25th point while leading 24-23. Coffeyville then rattled off three straight points to win, 26-24.
The Ravens kept the upper hand through much of the second set as well, leading 20-17 and 22-20 before Allen rallied to claim momentum. The Red Devils rattled off three straight points to lead, 23-22, and after some back-and-forth, scored the final two points of the 27-25 victory.
Allen maintained that pace through the third set, rolling to a 25-9 romp.
But Coffeyville bounced back in the fourth set, 25-21.
“It was a long game,” Shaw said. “Our defense really stepped up. They have some good hitters. Their no. 5 (Hannah Armstrong) pretty much won the first set by herself.”
Getting blockers in front of the net to disrupt Coffeyville’s hitters, and then having the defensive specialists behind for crucial digs, was the key.
“I don’t think we ever shut her down, but we were able to get some defense against her. Once we got that going, it felt a bit more comfortable.”
Allen’s outside hitters were no slouches themselves.
