In a clash of two squads that faced off just ten days prior, a similar result played out on Tuesday as the Springfield Catholic Lady Irish once again made quick work of visiting El Dorado Springs in straight sets (25-14, 25-13).
Knowing it had already achieved success against the Lady Bulldogs (6-12) in the Strafford Volleyfest back on Sept. 17, not much was stopping Catholic (18-5) in coming into the match with a clear idea of what its opponent was going to showcase.
“We've played them before, so we went into [the match] knowing how their defense goes and how their hits are,” said Catholic senior Hannah Ast, who bagged a team-high 22 digs in the win. “We went into it feeling pretty good.”
Evidently, the Lady Bulldogs were feeling pretty good themselves as they went toe to toe with Catholic early in the first set – forcing four ties and three lead-changes en route to sporting a 13-12 lead.
El Dorado Springs' early success symbolized a red flag for Lady Irish head coach Deirdre Smith, who gathered her club to keep its confidence elevated.
“We never want to go back and forth with a team, so [Smith] always tells us to make runs and push through,” Ast said.
Catholic promptly responded by turning a 13-12 deficit into a 25-14 victory as the Lady Irish ran off seven consecutive points and 13 of the final 14 points in the set.
“We started moving our feet better to the ball,” Smith said of her team's first-set improvement. “We were passing well and our hitters were finishing,”
Catholic's success in the first stanza carried over to the second set as a 16-2 lead was built right out of the gate – quickly dashing El Dorado Springs' hopes of a rebound and taking the pressure off a Lady Irish team that played noticeably looser as the evening progressed.
“Our girls were just having fun,” added Smith. “When they have fun, they play better.”
For the Lady Bulldogs, the last week has been a journey in experimentation that has left head coach Ashley Rogers looking for a rotation on the floor that equates to winning volleyball.
“They did their best with what they had out there,” Rogers said in reference to her team. “We're just hoping to push through this and find a rotation that works for us where we can click, have some good chemistry and go from there.”
Catholic moves back into conference play on Thursday as it hosts Reeds Spring, while El Dorado Springs looks to the Stockton Invitational Tournament on Saturday.
