volleyball
Lady Eagles Give Fans "Black Out" Night Victory
(8/31/10) Ankeny, IA - Encouraging students and fans to wear all black for a special “Black Out” night created a great atmosphere for the volleyball team as they defeated visiting Union College in an exciting 5 set match. “Last night our students and fans were great with their participation in “Black Out” night, and their enthusiasm carried us the entire night. We did not want to disappoint them!’ noted coach Lanny Nihart.
Faith captured set one with 25-18 even though they had their lowest hitting percentage of the match. The Eagles were able to offset the Warriors height advantage defensively by singling blocking the middle allowing for more coverage. “We really needed to tighten the court with their height in the middle. Going to single blocking allowed our Libero (Rikki) to roam more freely and not have as much area to cover, that worked in the first two sets,” notes Nihart. The Eagles improved their hitting percent in set two by a full point to take a hard fought 25-23 win.
Coming off a very entertaining 10 minute break between sets 2 and 3 Faith had to put out an effort to maintain momentum. The Warriors took re-grouped and gained victories in sets three and four by the scores of 25-17 and 25-19. Faith made some runs but was unable to ever regain the same offensive threats as in the previous two sets.
In the final set and Faith down 7-5 after taking early 4-2 and 5-3 leads, senior Jessica Roberts landed two consecutive kills to bring the Eagles to a 7-7 tie. Union landed a kill and switched courts leading 8-7. The Eagles were able to capture a 13-10 lead only to see the lead fall away after consecutive turnovers and Union had their first match point at 14-13. The Eagles executed serve receive to tie only to find Union in another match point situation. Behind Stephanie Brown and Ariel Dicks the Eagles put together a 3 point effort to capture the match 17-15.
“That was a barn burner! We are doing a good job starting matches, now we just need to finish. Hopefully matches like this will help us in the future. We became very passive at the net during sets 3 and 4 and you cannot do that against a good opponent” noted Nihart. Faith was lead by freshmen Julia Bray with 12 kills and 4 blocks. Jessica Roberts and Katherine Michalski added 7 kills each and 17 and 12 assists respectively.
Faith is now 2-1 on the year heading into their annual Spikefest Tournament. Seven teams from around the nation will travel to Ankeny this Friday and Saturday to participate. This year’s tournament features a very strong field, featuring three of last year’s national tournament qualifiers in Grace University, Ozark Christian College, and Manhattan Christian College. Perennial DII powerhouse Maranatha Baptist Bible College, who won last year’s Spikefest Tournament, and along with their fellow Midwest region members Northland International University and Grace Bible College will also be participating. Rounding out the field will be Faith’s region rival North Central University, whom the Lady Eagles will face Friday night at 8:00 PM. Faith will first see action in the tournament Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM versus Grace University, and will close out pool play on Saturday at 11:00 AM against Maranatha Baptist Bible College. Depending on how they finish in pool play, the Lady Eagles will play at either 1:30 PM or 3:30 PM. to close out the tournament.
Women Grab First Win of Season
(8/28/10) Ankeny, IA - Both seasoned veterans and newcomers to the Lady Eagles volleyball program were a bit nervous for their home opener against Calvary Bible College this past Saturday. Faith overcame those early game jitters, though, grabbing a 3-1 victory and evening their record a 1-1.
The Eagles fought off a valiant attempt by Warriors in set one winning 25-19. In set two the Warriors offense began to show itself, keeping Eagles off balance the entire set. Executing roll shots and timely tipping, Calvary had Faith back on their defensive heels. “Coach Erin (Davis) and I told the team in after set two we needed to better identify their attacks. We are waiting for strong attacks and they were finding holes in our defense with roll shots and quick tips, thankfully in set three we adjusted,” noted coach Nihart.
In set three the Eagles used a 9-0 run with senior transfer Stephanie Brown at the serving helm to create distance. Sophomore Katherine Michalski moved from her normal 5-1 setter position to an outside hitter spot. Michalski was able to gain 3 important kills that kept momentum on the side of Faith.
Volleyball is a true team sport with many momentum swings. Set 4 found both teams having advantages. Calvary began strong taking a 3-0 lead by benefitting from Faith serve receive errors. The Eagles were able to get even at 8 only to watch Calvary push the lead back to 17-14. A Julia Bray kill tied the score at 20-20 setting the stage for a showdown. Eagle’s outside hitter Brown garnered two consecutive kills for an Eagle lead of 22-20. Faith finished with a serving ace and miscues from the Warriors. “It was good to see Stephanie contribute at that point, she needed the confidence and we needed the points. Calvary has a good team and that made it a good win for us,” noted Nihart.
In addition to Bray’s 12 kills, Brown finished with 10 kills and 21 digs. Sophomore Libero Rikki Litke led the Eagles with 28 kills. Faith will face Union College on Tuesday, August 31st at 7:00 PM in the Convocation Center.
Lady Eagles Drop Season Opener to Waldorf
(8/26/10) Forest City, IA - The Faith Eagles volleyball opened the season Thursday at Waldorf College and fell short by the scores 29-27,25-12 and 25-20. “We gave a good effort for our first outing and being on the road. I thought our new players adjusted well throughout the course of the match. Waldorf did a nice job of serving and put pressure on us with their middle and weak side hitting” remarked coach Nihart.
In set one the Eagles opened the season with Rikki Litke serving an ace. Faith led throughout the set until Waldorf made a good push to gain a 22-17 lead. Behind freshmen middle hitter Julia Bray Faith mounted a charge and took a 24-23 lead. The Eagles were at set point twice 25-24 and 26-25 but could not hold off Waldorf. After a blocking error Waldorf captured set one 29-27. “I liked our intensity and as coaches were we pleased with an opening set for the year in terms of execution. The only part that hurt us was our serving with 5 errors,” notes Nihart.
Set two found Faith flat both offensively and defensively. The Eagles never mounted any consistent offensive attacks and saw their hitting percentage drop a full point while Waldorf had a huge increase. The Eagles were able to reverse course in set three and become competitive. Behind Bray and transfer Stephanie Brown Faith fought back from a 22-14 deficit to finish 25-20. The Eagles were led by Bray with 9 kills and 6 blocks with Brown adding 5 kills and 15 digs.
Coach Nihart is hoping time and energy will provide Faith with a substantial year. “Erin (Davis) and I as coaches are excited about the potential this team possesses. If we can get everyone to buy into our defensive system and understand their role we will have a fun and exciting team to watch. Even though we are at home most of September we have a rough slate during our Spikefest Tournament over Labor Day and some of the early season single matches. “ Faith will take on Calvary Bible College on Saturday, August 28 at 1:30 PM in the Gym-Convocation building.