Holdrege, Neb. – The Dusters hosted the Swedes for a Tuesday night match that lived up to the hype. Holdrege came out on top in five sets after the hard-fought contest between two top-tier teams winning 25-20, 22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 20-18.
The first set went to Holdrege after they were able to pull away in the end. Even though the Dusters led most of the way, they were never able to gain control until the final few points. The second set showed exactly how close the Swedes and Dusters were. Gothenburg took the set 25-22, but Holdrege was always within striking distance. In the third set, the Dusters were uncharacteristically off balanced. Gothenburg cruised to a 25-16 win. They kept the pressure up while the Dusters had trouble finding their rhythm again.
In the fourth set, things came back around for Holdrege. Duster head coach Ryan Birner credited his assistant coach Erin Heath for bringing the team together and refocusing his squad with a pre-set peptalk. For the Duster players, it was a much-needed reset after their disappointing performance in the third. Holdrege went on to even up the match at 2-2 after taking set four 25-21.
With both teams experiencing chances to take control only to have their opponent charge back, it seemed fitting that Tuesday’s match would head to a fifth set. Set five was an almost perfect microcosm of how the entire night went. Neither team was ready to give in despite anything that had previously taken place that night.
Holdrege worked their way to a 14-11 lead and had victory in their sights. However, Gothenburg certainly showed their mettle facing match point. They rallied off three straight points to get back in it. The Swedes and Dusters traded points multiple times, with Gothenburg eventually earning a match point. Holdrege fought that off and would finally close the door to take set five 20-18.
The Swedes fell to 17-9 and were led offensively by Lindly Anderson’s 17 kills. She was followed closely by Grace Evert with 16 kills and Halsey Thomalla’s 10 kills. Gothenburg’s next match will be Tuesday, October 22, at Amherst.
The Dusters improved to 16-5 on the season. Carson Sundquist’s 18 kills was a game high. She was joined on the attack by Averi Bilka who had eight kills and Emily Stutzman who finished with seven. Holdrege’s tough week continues on Thursday, October 17, when they travel to unbeaten Minden. That game can be heard on KUVR starting with pregame at 6:50 pm and the first serve at 7.
