FLATONIA — The Flatonia High School volleyball team defeated Weimar High School October 13 at Bulldogs Gym by a final score of 24-26, 25-22, 25-21, 14-25, 15-4.
Each set was close until the last two sets in a match that could’ve gone either way as each team played well enough in order to win this game.
"In the fourth set, we had a conundrum of mishaps just as we were trying to change up our energy," said Flatonia head volleyball coach Lauren Hoffman.
"Something had to change.
We completely reset for the fifth set. We had teammates to play for. We really focused on the fact that we’re playing for our teammates. We gotta focus on our teammates and work together as a whole bench and the court to get a dub."
Flatonia outside hitter Katelin Sullivan had another big game offensively and racked up a bunch of kills throughout the match. "Ob - viously, the fourth set was a hot mess," Sullivan said. "We don't do that. We all feel like the set didn't even happen. The fifth set, it was grind don't stop and playing together as a team and really bringing the ener- gy."
Weimar played a great game and did things in this match that definitely could have put a W in the win col- umn for them.
"Honestly, it was good," said Coach Horton. "The girls needed it. It was some good volleyball. Flatonia gave us some really good reps and things that we need to work on. They came out gunning. They were strong. They looked a lot different than when we first saw them, so really proud of Coach Hoffman for getting her girls there. It showed us kind of what we really need to work on. I think our girls came in thinking that they had it. They got humbled and that was beautiful. I think we've seen some really good things that our girls did. Overall, I'm really proud of how both teams played. Our girls did good. Just things we got to work on right now."
A ball in the net from Fla- tonia tied it at 20 in the first set, then a few points back and forth and two mistakes from
Flatonia won Weimar the first set 26-24.
A few points in a row from Sullivan on a tip ball and two kills gave the Lady Bulldogs a 4-0 lead in the second set, which was followed by Flatonia maintaining a similar lead until Weimar stormed back and eventually tied the game at 14.
The remainder of the set was back and forth again until the very end with a three-point swing from Flatonia in crunch time to win it 25-22.
The third set was back and forth early until Weimar gained an edge and a kill from junior outside hitter Ramsey Tol- bert made it 14-10 in favor of Weimar. Flatonia would make a comeback of their own and an ace from the Lady Bulldogs tied it at 17.
A couple more kills and an ace from Sullivan along with some kills from Abbie Uzzell made it 22-18, which led to a couple answered points from Weimar and a final kill from Uzzell to win the set 25-21.
Weimar took a 10-0 lead in the fourth set on a bunch of kills, a few mistakes from Fla - tonia, and three aces. Flatonia would battle back and make it 14-7, forcing Weimar to call
timeout.
After the timeout, Weimar kept that same kind of lead and even extended their lead later in the set, resulting in a final serve out of bounds from Fla- tonia and a 25-14 set win for Weimar.
The fifth set was very simi - lar to the fourth set, except this time it went in favor of Flatonia with four points in a row on a couple kills and a couple mistakes from Weimar.
The Lady Bulldogs continued their strong push midway through the set and Weimar called a timeout after a block from Flatonia that made it 102. The final stretch inclueded
a kill each from Uzzell and Sullivan, then a final kill from Uzzell to win the set and match 15-4.
