Du Quoin spikers pick up two more victories
DU QUOIN - The regular season is winding down, and the Du Quoin volleyball team continues to take care of business.
The Indians won two of three matches last week. The wins came over Trico and Anna-Jonesboro, and the loss was at the hands of Nashville, which tied for the SIRR Mississippi Division title with Pinckneyville.
Du Quoin defeated Trico 25-23, 25-16 to earn its 23rd victory of the season. Jalynn Wood contributed 10 kills in that contest. Elizabeth Bird tallied eight kills, and Lauren Heape had six kills, three aces and five digs.
"Wood really stepped up there, and I think that may have been a season high for her," said Du Quoin coach Isaac Miller. "Bird and Heape are pretty consistent, but to get another weapon is nice."
Gabrielle Alongi added eight digs, and Sophie Miller delivered 20 assists in the Trico match.
The Indians swept Anna-Jonesboro 25-21, 25-15 in their second match of the week. Bird notched 10 kills, two aces and two blocks in that one.
"I felt like we really served well against A-J, and we kind of knew where their weak receivers were because we'd played them before," Miller said. "That's where we hurt them. We singled out some girls and just kept serving at them all night long. They had a hard time getting the ball out of the back row. It was nice to get that win on Senior Night for our seniors. Last year we had a hiccup against Herrin on Senior Night after beating them three times before that."
Alongi had nine digs and Miller 21 assists against Anna-Jonesboro as well.
Even though the Indians have a good record of 24-9, they haven't been able to solve rivals Pinckneyville and Nashville.
The Hornettes dropped their first set to Du Quoin 25-21, but came back to win the final two 25-10, 25-18. Nashville and Pinckneyville wound up sharing the conference crown with Du Quoin taking third place.
Much like its previous match against Pinckneyville, Du Quoin won the first set against Nashville but didn't fare well after that.
"Our second set wasn't as bad as the score indicates, and we've talked about being aggressive because we had nothing to lose," Miller said.
"We went out and attacked them and got a lot of balls down. In the second set, we had those same attacks, but the difference was Nashville and their libero, Abby Wesselmann. I even told her after the match that she played outstanding. It wasn't us slowing down our hitting, they just stepped up defensively."
Ayanna Dunklin smashed five kills and had six blocks against Nashville. Alongi contributed 13 digs and Miller had 20 assists.
"We came back in the third and gave them all they wanted, and it was knotted at 17-all," Miller said. "They ended up pulling away late, but we had them a little worried. Ayanna had a good night for us, and that's what you need at this time of year. Everyone has to produce to get us a team win."
Du Quoin travels to Cobden and Herrin this week to close out the regular season.