Youth is a wonderful thing. But with it comes inconsistency.
Allen County Community College’s Red Devil volleyball team is struggling with staying consistent on the court. But even with the ups and downs of their play at home Wednesday night, the Red Devils defeated visiting Labette Community College in straight sets.
Allen County won 25-17, 25-19, 25-22.
“The match was not an easy one to sit through. We could not figure out at what level we wanted to play,” said Jessica Peters, ACCC head volleyball coach.
“Our errors mainly came in the areas of attacking and service. Our defense did not show up tonight.”
In the opening set, the Red Devils didn’t gain control of it until the end. Allen County led 20-17 when Leesha Plagens stepped to the service line.
Plagens served out the set with five consecutive points. One of the big reasons for the win was the net play of Allison Jenicke, who finished the night with 18 kills, two solo blocks and two assisted blocks.
The second set was much the same as the first. Karlee Bobbitt and Plagens had back-to-back serving spots that pushed Allen County to the lead, 20-12. Jenicke and Andrea Miller were on the net.
Down the stretch of the second set, Nicole Rockhold had three big kills, including the winning point. Rockhold had 16 kills for the night and and led the team with 15 digs.
Rockhold was last week’s Jayhawk Conference, NJCAA Division II volleyball player of the week. Rockhold had double-doubles in kills and defensive kills in four matches.
A seven-point run on the service line by Jenicke set up Allen County with a 9-3 lead in the third set. But the Cardinals fought back to forge a 20-20 tie.
Rockhold came up with a kill to put Allen County in control of the ball again and up 21-20. Nicole Reed served and Rockhold put down the kill.
The Red Devils went back to the sophomore hitter on defense for yet another kill. Rockhold served up a point coming off a block by Jenicke and Plagens. Allen County got the match winner on a missed serve by Labette.
“We know what we need to work on going into this weekend at Highland,” Peters said. “We will continue to work hard at fixing mistakes and moving on.”
The Red Devils improved to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play. They play in the Highland Community College Invitational Friday and Saturday.
Plagens led the Red Devils in serving Wednesday with 11 points followed by Jenicke with 10 points. Reed served for eight and Rockhold had six service points. Bobbitt served for five while Morgan Scott had one service point.
Erika Mack was credited with 14 set assists and Bobbitt had 12.
Miller had seven kills, one solo block and three assisted blocks. Plagens had one solo block and two assisted blocks and Makhala Giardina had an assisted block.
Bobbitt came up with 13 digs and Jenicke had 11. Reed had eight digs.
Former Iola High teammates Shelby Greenwood, ACCC, and Mindy Powelson, Labette, played against each other in the match. Greenwood had six assist sets, four digs and two assist blocks for the Red Devils.
Red Devils sweep under Cardinals
