Mental test for Vikings against scrappy Bluejay squad (2024)

WAVERLY — A young Waverly volleyball team found out where they are not just physically but mentally tough against Ashland-Greenwood at home on Sept. 3. Despite some setbacks, the Class B No. 4 Vikings found a way to hang on and swept the Bluejays 25-15, 30-28, and 25-17.

“They pressed us hard, but we just kept going ...,” Waverly Head Coach Terri Neujahr said. “Especially that first set, we beat them pretty significantly.”

To open the match, Waverly came to play and raced out to a big lead. They eventually beat A-G by a wide margin of 10 points.

In the second set, the Bluejays rebounded with tons of hustle and heart. Neujahr applauded the way A-G just never backed down in the set.

“They just swung on everything and really converted,” Neujahr said. “They are a team with no fear right now. Props to them for that and instilling that mentality in them.”

Trailing 28-27 late in the set, the Vikings dug deep and found a way to rally off three points to win the marathon set. Closing out the second with a kill off the left side was Hallie Lauenstein.

What impressed Neujahr the most about the set was how her team called each other out for their play and could change their attitudes and win the second.

“They stopped trusting a little bit in that second set and weren’t going for things. In one of those huddles, they called themselves out on it. I didn’t say it, they said it. It was really neat to see because it’s such a young team.”

Leading 2-0, Waverly raced out to a big lead in the third set. Marley Glock picked up a kill for the Bluejays that got them within six late, but the Vikings responded by winning the next two points.

Hallie Lauenstein paced Waverly with 11 kills and 12 digs while Gracie Lauenstein finished with eight kills and 11 digs. Lierman picked up seven kills, blocked one shot, and dug out eight balls.

Getting four kills and two blocks was Jackson followed by McKinely Moser with 33 assists, 12 digs, four blocks, three assists, and two kills.

On Sept. 5, the Vikings lost their first match of the season at home to Class B No. 6 Gretna East. It was a tight five-set match that went to the Griffins by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-14, and 13-15.

Inconsistent play once again hampered Waverly against Gretna East.

It’s something the Vikings will have to continue and try to figure out if they want to be a team to push for a state title later in the season.

“I felt like we left a lot of points on the floor,” Neujahr said. “We had some mental errors and again hesitation and things you kind of expect from younger teams. We got to get through that fast and we got to get past it.”

Hallie Lauenstein led the way with a match-high 19 kills while Gracie Lauenstein finished with 17 kills. Picking up five kills to go along with three blocks was Jackson.

Having a terrific game with 42 assists, nine digs, four blocks, two aces, and six kills was Moser. According to Neujahr, she is a leader on the court and plays way beyond her sophom*ore status.

“She’s only a sophom*ore, but wow, she does some really impressive things. She distributes really well, and she sees the defense really well. She gets a lot of one-on-ones that maybe a sophom*ore wouldn’t do, but she has that in her tool kit right now.”

Waverly played at Blair on Sept. 10 and then were at Class B No. 2 Elkhorn North on Sept. 12.