Volleyball team sweeps Bettendorf in regional semifinal
The Trojan volleyball team faced off against Bettendorf on Oct. 21 for a chance to keep their season alive.
Mayowa Dokun ’22 celebrates a kill with Melae’ Lacy ’24 on Oct. 21 during the regional semifinal against Bettendorf.
October 22, 2021
Keeley Arnold in her first official and normal year as head volleyball coach has experienced a fair share of ups and downs. Various things like coming off of an unusual shortened season and adapting to a different coach could have been easy outs for the Trojans when times got tough but the group of returning playmakers continued to fight. Coming into the night West sat just inside the top 15 teams in the state according to various rankings, sitting at 15-16 on the year the Trojan volleyball team realized they only had a few more chances to prove themselves as a threat despite their record.
The West volleyball team faced off with Bettendorf in the region seven semifinals on Oct. 21 for a chance to play in the regional final and make a run for the state tournament next week.
West got right to business in the first set scoring five straight with the help of a Mayowa Dokun ’22 tip kill to put them up 10-7 early. Sydney Woods ’22 had another big night for the Trojans, Woods strung together four kills in the first set to make it 19-15 and extend West’s lead to four. The Trojans’ crisp passing and stellar backline led them to a quick 25-16 first set win.
Outside hitters Melae’ Lacy ’24, Woods and Dokun got creative to score throughout the night as the Bulldogs continued to leave holes in their defense. Despite some big powerful kills from all three on the night, the Trojan hitters racked up the kills with a small tap leaving the ball just short of the Bettendorf defenders’ hands and onto the ground for a point. West’s 5-1 and 4-0 run in the second set propelled them to a 25-21 victory as they inched closer to the sweep.
With their season on the line, the Bulldogs came back alive in the third set jumping out to a 23-17 lead in hopes of forcing a fourth set. Katherine Kouba ’22 said no, putting together five straight service points to bring the Trojans back into sweep contention. Kills from Lacy and Sophia Deyak ’23 sealed the deal for West in the end as they won the third set 28-26 and swept Bettendorf.
The Trojans took down the Bulldogs in three sets (25-16, 25-21, 28-26) and will face off with Pleasant Valley on Oct. 26. West is 1-1 with the Spartans this season after taking them down 2-1 at the MAC vs MVC Challenge on Aug. 26 but falling short most recently 2-0 at the Liberty Invite on Sept. 25.
