Lady Savages come up short against Iowa Valley

The Lady Savages were hoping they could get a win streak going, coming off a sweep of Tri-County on September 10, but it wouldn’t be easy as they had to take on perennial powerhouse Iowa Valley on the road September 13. Sigourney had some chances to push it into extra sets but couldn’t manage to close out the tail end of sets when they needed it most, losing all three sets.

                Iowa Valley came out of the gates, putting Sigourney in an early 0-3 hole but the Lady Savages rallied back by winning seven of the next eight points to take a three point lead themselves. Some solid serves, along with consistent attacks at the net, allowed Sigourney to take some of the momentum back. From there it remained close with neither side being able to pull away from the other. Sigourney got a couple key power serves from Maddie Schwenke that led to a couple quick aces, keeping it tight throughout.

                The Tigers responded again, finding some holes in the Sigourney defense and pounding home some attacks to stretch their lead to 20-15, late in the first set. Sigourney fought back and gave themselves a chance to take the opening set, but Iowa Valley closed it out to hand Sigourney a 20-25 loss. Sigourney was the beneficiary of some quick points throughout with multiple double-hit fouls called on the Tigers.

                The Lady Savages opened the second set with some aggression, getting out to as much as a three point lead. Iowa Valley rallied back to take a minimal lead, which resulted in a timeout called by Sigourney. Sloane Magill played a role in the early points for the Lady Savages, finding some success at the net with her quick smashes.

                “We played scrappy defense and our hitters were aggressive, with some of our hits being dug up,” Carter said. “I feel like our blocking has gotten better, we got touches on the ball, but we always have to get better.”

                Like set one, the Tigers managed to pull away midway through the second set. A couple mis-timed hits rolled off Sigourney’s attackers’ hands and kept the momentum on the other side of the net. The Lady Savages stormed back just when it seemed the Tigers would take a commanding victory, down as much as 15-20 but then responded with a string of points. While Sigourney made their opposition nervous, it still wasn’t enough as they took the narrow 22-25 loss.

                “We definitely made them nervous and made them work,” Carter said. “We were beating ourselves at times and they didn’t have to do anything to earn points. We have to make them earn their points.”

                An early timeout was called in the third set for the Lady Savages, having gone down 1-4. Iowa Valley had gotten their quick hits clicking and pushed Sigourney’s back even closer to the wall. The Lady Savages responded with another rally to stay within one midway through the pivotal set. Sigourney then called another timeout after the Tigers won three of the next five points, sensing their chances might be fading. Iowa Valley closed the set out on a run to hand Sigourney the 18-25 loss, sweeping the Lady Savages.

                “Iowa Valley executed their quick hits very well and had them at key times. That probably hurt us more than anything,” Carter said. “I think this was a big confidence booster for us, with Iowa Valley seemingly going to finish high in the conference again. For our younger girls, hopefully it gives them the confidence they need to rise to the occasion and get everyone to play with that much confidence from the beginning.”

                Sigourney played in a tournament on September 15 at North Mahaska before returning home for another tough matchup against Belle Plaine on September 18. The Lady Savages had a 1-5 record through their road loss at Iowa Valley.