Newton volleyball sweeps away field at Cardinal Early Bird Invitational

The Newton volleyball team expected to be 3-0 after its home tournament kicked off the season once again on Tuesday.

But it’s still the season openers and stress, anxiety and nerves playing on the court for the first time could be a factor.

The experienced Cardinals though didn’t have much of an issue in their matchups with PCM, Saydel and Des Moines Hoover.

“We know we should take care of business against these teams, but at the same time, you have first-match jitters, anxiousness and maybe even excitement,” Newton head volleyball coach Heidi Woollums said. “I was very happy with how they settled in and took care of business.”

The toughest match both Jasper County programs had was against each other.

Newton downed PCM 21-18, 21-11 in their final match of the night. The Mustangs were 2-1, while Saydel edged Hoover in three sets in their matchup.

Newton defeated Saydel 21-8, 21-10 and downed Hoover 21-11, 21-8. The Mustangs swept Hoover 21-6, 21-6 and were better than conference rival Saydel 21-11, 21-17.

“I think it was a good start and we can only go up from here,” PCM head volleyball coach Sarah De Vries said. “Those first two games were good ones to start with.

“The wins build confidence for sure. We have girls who are still learning new positions and what it’s like to play in varsity matches so getting those two early wins can only help.”

The Cardinals are 3-0 for the fifth straight season. They improved to 10-2 against PCM with their ninth straight victory in the series. Newton improved to 7-0 against Hoover and Saydel in at least the Varsity Bound era.

“I think we have all the skills and stuff we need, it’s just a matter of bonding together and doing it,” said Newton senior Kadance Ahn, who is coming off a season where she earned first team all-conference recognition.

Ahn finished with 23 kills in the Cardinals’ three matches. Macy Lampe tallied 11 digs and 26 assists, Hailey Sumpter served up 12 aces and Delaney Woollums registered 11 digs.

Chloe Swank served 20-of-20 and Delaney Woollums was 18-of-18.

The Cardinals (3-0) jumped out in front of PCM 6-1 in their matchup, but the Mustangs trimmed their margin to 7-6 after a Cardinal service error, a tip by Eliana Buswell and an ace by Rebecca De Vries.

Newton extended the lead to 12-7 following a pair of kills from Delaney Woollums, a blast from Lampe and an ace from Swank.

The Mustangs (2-1) didn’t go away though. Three straight points closed the gap to 12-10. Newton increased the lead again to 16-11, but PCM evened the score at 18-all.

“We might have freaked out in past years if we gave up a lead like that,” Coach Woollums said. “I thought our experience took over when things didn’t go our way.”

A net violation, a kill by Chloe Rorabaugh and an ace by Ahn finished off the game one victory for Newton.

The second set was back-and-forth early. A pair of Ahn kills made it 2-1 Newton, but two tips from Buswell tied the game at 5-all.

Another kill by Ahn and a blast from Sumpter helped the Cardinals go in front 9-5 and back-to-back kills by Ahn created even more separation.

After PCM got a kill from Elle Davis to make it 9-6, Newton rattled off nine straight points.

Back-to-back kills by Reese Palm and another kill from Rebecca De Vries trimmed the margin, but Delaney Woollums ended the set and the match with a tip a few points later.

“We got in a run there and came back. We got in a run in the second game, too, but just didn’t come back enough,” Coach De Vries said. “That will be the difference in this season. We have to find ways to avoid large holes and deficits and get ourselves out of those situations.”

Ahn put down 12 kills in the win over PCM, while Lampe finished with 11 assists, two kills and five digs.

Addison Hook posted six assists and three digs, Delaney Woollums added four kills and five digs and Haylie Ryan delivered three assists and two digs.

Swank finished with a team-best 10 digs, Sumpter put down three kills and Ahn had four digs.

The Cardinals served 39-of-40 with five aces. Sumpter was 14-of-14. The Mustangs were 27-of-30 with two aces.

“I think we all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Ahn said. “We know what each other likes. I feel like we get along better this year, too.

“I think we’re realizing that for some of us, it’s our last year. And it’s now or never.”

Buswell led the Mustangs in the loss to Newton with seven assists, four kills and four digs. Rebecca De Vries added four kills and three digs, Palm chipped in three kills and four digs and Addison Steenhoek had two kills and two digs.

Lark Drake contributed four digs and Tori Lindsay produced two digs.

Newton opened its night against Saydel. A pair of Sumpter aces helped the Cardinals jump out to a 5-0 lead and the advantage went to 11-1 and 18-6. A Sumpter kill and a tip by Ahn finished off the Eagles a few points later.

In the second set, Newton again led 6-1 following a kill by Rorabaugh and an ace by Sumpter. Saydel (1-2) managed to get within 12-8 before a 5-0 run, led by an Ahn block and a kill, pushed the Cardinals in front for good.

After another kill by Ahn, Gracie Clayton served up an ace and Newton won the match one point later.

“I think the whole team knows they are better and feels they are better,” Coach Woollums said. “I think we were just a bit too young the past few years. We just need to get over the fact that we only won seven games in each of the past two seasons. They have to be confident and have no fear of failure.”

Ahn finished with six kills and four aces against Saydel. Sumpter added three kills and five aces, Lampe tallied eight assists and four digs, Swank chipped in two digs and three aces and Delaney Woollums collected two kills and three digs.

Addison White registered three digs and Hook dished out two assists.

The Cardinals were 36-of-39 in serves with 15 aces. They had 16 aces and were 37-of-42 in serves against Hoover.

Lampe led the Cardinals against Hoover (0-4) with seven assists, two digs and two aces and Delaney Woollums added two kills, three digs and three aces.

Ahn put down a team-best five kills and collected four digs, Sumpter tallied six aces, Rorabaugh finished with two kills and Hook dished out two assists.

“Our serving was phenomenal and our hitting was good, too. The 36 aces in three matches was really good,” Coach Woollums said. “We are trying to run faster offenses. Our volleyball IQs are higher than in years past. We’ll get better at that as the season progresses.”

PCM jumped out to a 5-1 lead over Saydel in the opening set. Palm capped a 5-0 run with a block and a kill on back-to-back points.

Saydel got within 8-6, but the Mustangs pushed the margin to 14-7 with a 6-1 run. That spurt included aces by Rebecca De Vries and Rylie Muck and a block by Davis. They maintained their advantage until a kill by De Vries improved the lead to 10 late in the set.

The Eagles led 8-5 in the second set, but a kill by Lindsay, an ace by Muck and a net violation by Saydel evened the set at 8-all.

A Lindsay ace was sandwiched between a pair of kills from Palm to put the Mustangs in front 12-9.

The lead stayed at three until a 5-0 run extended PCM’s margin to 18-11. The Mustangs went on to win by four.

“We are working on our tempo and getting quicker with our offense,” Coach De Vries said. “We are trying to do more quick sets to keep opponents guessing. It still needs work, but it’s early.”

Buswell led PCM against the Eagles, finishing with seven assists and two digs. Lindsay tallied three kills and three digs, Steenhoek finished with two kills and four digs and Palm put down four kills.

Rebecca De Vries finished with two kills, Drake registered two digs and Muck chipped in two aces.

PCM was 34-of-41 in serves with five aces. The Mustangs were 36-of-41 with nine aces in the win over Hoover.

In PCM’s win over Hoover, Buswell finished with 10 assists, three digs and three aces.

Muck also tallied three kills, five digs and three aces, Davis had four kills and Rebecca De Vries and Palm each had two kills. Lindsay registered three digs and Steenhoek served up two aces.

“We upped our service game. We have worked hard on that,” Coach De Vries said. “I thought our serve receive was good as well. We were passing the ball a lot better than we did at the beginning of last season. That makes a huge difference at the net.”