Supporting cast backs up Maher in Raider win

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CMB senior Liz Kunkel had 13 digs for the Raiders on Tuesday in a regional quarterfinal win over North Polk. The team next plays Friday against West Branch in Brooklyn. (Troy Hyde/Daily News)

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ALLEMAN — Coming into this volleyball season, CMB coach Jon Richards knew he would have a quality team leader in senior Abby Maher.

The main question would be how the young and inexperienced supporting cast would respond in the first varsity action of their careers.

And while the season has been filled with ups and downs from the supporting cast, Maher got plenty of help Tuesday during a four-game win over North Polk in the regional quarterfinals at Alleman.

Maher still managed to dominate, too, as the Raiders dumped the conference rival Comets, 25-21, 25-16, 23-25, 25-21.

“We’ve been working hard in practice this year, and the underclassmen seem to have a much better understanding of the game than they did earlier in the year,” Maher said. “The underclassmen really stepped up tonight.”

Richards said part of the improvement may have come from hearing him get on them every day in practice.

“I’m going to ride the kids a lot,” Richards said. “I don’t know if that is always the best philosophy, but I am seeing changes for the better right now. We needed others to step up tonight, and we got that.”

While Maher finished with 24 kills and 23 digs, junior Amber Joyce recorded eight kills and four aces, while junior Sam Curler added three kills and three blocks and junior Taylor Hofer served up five aces.

“We needed to up our play tonight, and we did that,” Richards said. “We had a lot of kids produce, and that is why I am hard on them.”

The play up front for CMB was much-improved, but Richards also got a boost from his Raiders defensively. The team made a lot of diving efforts at loose balls and kept points alive until the very end. Maher’s 23 digs were backed by 15 digs from sophomore libero Emmeline Huffaker, 13 digs from senior Liz Kunkel and 11 digs from senior Jessica Heidemann.

Junior Jessica Robinett also had six digs and led the team in assists with 31.

“We came out today wanting to win,” Maher said. “We worked hard tonight. We came in ready to play and wanted to keep our season going.”

The Raiders jumped out to an early lead in game one behind three kills from Maher. Jenna Huntrods came up with a kill to put CMB up 13-8 before North Polk rallied to tie the match at 19. The Comets actually led 20-19 before the Raiders took over down the stretch.

Maher scored four of the team’s final six points, and Hofer also got an ace as the Raiders won 25-21.

A similar start in game two saw Maher get CMB out to another early lead. And like last before, the Comets rallied to take the lead before the Raiders took over late.

Down 16-13, the Raiders scored the game’s final 12 points to win going away. The big run featured five kills by Maher, three aces and a kill by Joyce and two straight points by Curler.

“We made more plays tonight and kept the runs going,” Richards said. “We need to have runs with something other than kills, and we did that tonight.”

Game three was nip and tuck throughout. The Comets jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but CMB rallied to tie it at 9. After that, neither team led by more than three points as North Polk forced a fourth game with a narrow two-point win.

A little bit of CMB’s youth and inexperienced showed in game four, but it came after the Raiders built a commanding lead.

Behind four kills by Maher and solid play from the supporting cast, CMB began the final game with a 12-1 lead. The advantage stayed around 10 points for a little while longer, but North Polk chipped away later due to mistakes by the Raiders.

CMB had trouble with serves and committed several errors down the stretch but still managed to hang on. The Raiders led 23-13 and 24-16 before holding on to win 25-21. They needed six chances at match point before Maher ended with a soft push that landed between several Comet defenders.

“Getting a win like this on the road in the postseason makes the season worthwhile for these girls,” Richards said. “It’s a good feeling for them. The team never quit tonight.”

At 12-12, the Raiders will next play at Brooklyn on Friday against West Branch in the regional semifinals. West Branch dumped Iowa City Regina in three games Tuesday. Iowa City Regina had everyone back after knocking out the Raiders in the regional semifinals last season.

Collins-Maxwell-Baxter 3, North Polk 1

KILLS — Abby Maher 24, Amber Joyce 8, Sam Curler 3, Jenna Huntrods 2, Zeah Peterson 2, Jessica Robinett 1.
DIGS — Maher 23, Emmeline Huffaker 15, Liz Kunkel 13, Jessica Heidemann 11, Robinett 6, Peterson 3, Taylor Hofer 2, Huntrods 1.
ASSISTS — Robinett 31.
BLOCKS — Curler 3, Huntrods 1, Peterson 1.
ACES — Hofer 5, Joyce 4, Maher 3.

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