Newton volleyball loses to Oskaloosa on Senior Night

Newton's volleyball team flashes brilliance at times. And other times, the Cardinals struggle with all aspects of the game.

When the team finds consistency it will be tough to beat, according to head coach Kim Florke.

The Cardinals were great in moments against Oskaloosa on Tuesday night, but the Indians got the better of Newton on Senior Night, winning the match in four sets.

Oskaloosa opened its Little Hawkeye Conference schedule with a 25-13, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18 win over the Cardinals. Newton fell to 1-1 in conference play.

"We are showing some glimpses of greatness. We need to play to win and show more consistency," Florke said. "We just need to be consistent with our hitting, our serving, our passing, with everything. We see greatness at times, but we have to do that time after time after time."

The Indians (6-3 overall, 1-0 in the LHC) took control of the opening set when Maleah Walker served up four consecutive aces to put the Indians in front 14-6.

Newton got within five after back-to-back aces by senior Jerrica McGuire, but the Cardinals couldn't get any closer. McGuire served up six aces in the loss.

"We started the match with three great passes but hit all three attacks out," Florke said. "When we finally put it all together, we'll be tough. You are not going to want to play us at the end of the year if that's where we are."

The middle two sets were the most competitive in the match.

Newton (6-5, 1-1) battled back from an 8-5 deficit in the second set. The Cardinals scored four straight points, the final one coming on an ace by senior Tess Brunsmann.

The set saw several ties. Oskalooosa jumped ahead 15-11 but Newton rallied behind a kill and back-to-back aces by McGuire. Then a kill by freshman Kadance Ahn put the home team back in front 17-16.

Senior Kynnedei Terpstra put down a kill later tie it at 19-all then a kill by senior Meg Callaghan and an ace by Brunsmann put the Cardinals in front by two.

Oskaloosa recovered to tie the set at 23 and 24 but a net violation and a Terpstra ace gave the Cardinals a 26-24 win to even the match at one set apiece.

"When it got to 24-24, we could have just laid down and let them win it," Florke said. "We fought for it. And that's what I really liked to see. We are trying to change a culture, and it's easy to go back to old ways.

"That's what we did Thursday. They were angry about Thursday night. Taking a game from this team is good. They are a good team."

The third set also was back and forth. Neither team had more than a one-point lead until the Indians went up 15-12.

The Cardinals battled back to force a tie at 18-all when senior Kate Callaghan found a hole in the defense with a tip kill. Kate Callaghan led the Cardinals with nine kills, 11 digs and 24 assists in the match.

Oskaloosa rolled off five straight points to take a lead. Back-to-back kills by Terpstra closed the gap, but Newton couldn't get closer than two the rest of the way.

The Indians scored the first five points of the third set, but Newton didn't go down without a fight. A kill and an ace by McGuire put the Cardinals on the board and kills by Meg Callaghan, Ahn and Terpstra pushed it to a tie at 6-all.

Oskaloosa then used runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to go up 17-9. Newton came within a pair after a kill by Terpstra, but the Indians scored five of the final six points to secure the set win and match victory.

"We played them tough three out of four sets," Florke said. "Hopefully that will help us take the next step and then we just continue taking the next steps."

Terpstra finished with a season-high 10 kills and also had two digs, Ahn collected six kills, 11 digs and two aces and senior Katie McConnell tallied a team-best 12 digs.

McGuire put down six kills and had three digs, Brunsmann finished with four assists and two aces and Meg Callaghan filled the stat sheet with three assists, three kills, two blocks and eight digs. Senior Riley Davidson chipped in three digs.

Notes: Newton was 68-of-79 in serves with Terpstra going 8-of-8, Brunsmann serving 12-of-13 and Meg Callaghan going 9-of-10. ... Oskaloosa has only played one home match this season. It improved to 5-3 on the road. ... Eleven Cardinals were recognized before the match for Senior Night, including Kate Callaghan, Meg Callaghan, McGuire, Terpstra, McConnell, Brunsmann, Davidson, Haley Fuller, Lainey Hull, Kayli Greer and Trenity Conley. "All great kids. And to stay out all four years when you haven't been successful says something about their character," Florke said. "They work hard in practice every day. They like to have fun, too. They are great people to be around."