PCM volleyball loses to Gilbert

MONROE — There were parts of the opening set that Prairie City-Monroe head volleyball coach Alex Samson loved during the Mustangs’ battle with Gilbert on Tuesday night.

PCM was able to win a few long rallies, but the successes just weren’t consistent enough as the Tigers won the Heart of Iowa Conference match 25-14, 25-4, 25-9.

“I saw a team that was volleying back and forth with Gilbert,” Samson said. “We won a few volleys late in the set, and I was happy with how we finished. That was fun. We need to do that more often, but we just couldn’t carry it over to the next two games.”

Samson is still looking for some consistency with a squad which is made up mostly of underclassmen. But when things get tough, it’s hard for the young squad to get back on track.

“I think we get down, and we can’t get back up,” Samson said. “I am trying to teach them mental toughness. When the other team puts down a good kill, that’s fine. Just move on and get the next one. It’s hard to do that, but we are working on it.”

The Mustangs did not hold a lot of leads on the night. Gilbert led wire-to-wire in the opening set. PCM held a 1-0 and 2-1 lead in the second set and went on top 2-1 and 5-4 in the final set.

But each time, the Tigers used big runs to shift the momentum. And the Mustangs couldn’t keep up.

PCM (4-16 overall, 1-3 in HOIC play) fared pretty well during the early stages of the opening set. The Mustangs were still within striking distance midway through the set, but Gilbert used a 6-0 run to go up 19-8.

PCM battled back to cut its deficit to 21-14, but the Tigers scored the final four points to take an early lead.

The Mustangs were plagued by several two-hand touch calls throughout the match. It was something Samson hasn’t seen consistently called this season.

“It depends on the official. I think we had a few that the official was right on. But some of them I wasn’t sure about,” Samson said. “I was heated a few times about some other calls. It doesn’t make or break the game, but it sure can change momentum on some of those plays.”

Gilbert (12-19, 3-1) maintained its momentum in the second set. The Mustangs managed only four points in the frame.

They led 1-0 on assisted blocks by sophomores Emma Houser and Kassidy Block. PCM went up 2-1 after a Gilbert serving error, but it was all Tigers from that point on as the visitors scored 24 of the next 26 points to win the game.

The Mustangs kept it close early in the third set. Trailing 5-4, Gilbert pulled away with a 13-0 run. A Tiger service error made it 17-6, and then a kill by freshman Claire Wilson kept the gap at 11.

Sophomore Celeste Wagaman recorded a kill and an ace on back-to-back plays later in the set, but Gilbert finished off the sweep two points later.

The Tigers had a significant height advantage along the front row, and they were able to use the extra inches to crush free balls to the floor.

“We were trying to get to as many balls as we could at the net,” Samson said. “And we had a lot of over passes, which we shouldn’t be doing, especially to a tall team.”

Junior setter Shelby Voeller led the Mustangs with seven aces, six digs and two blocks. Wagaman added three kills and one ace, Wilson chipped in three kills and senior Avery Stock collected a team-high six digs.

Block finished with a team-best two blocks. Junior Chloe Inskeep was 6-for-6 in serves, while Stock was 6-for-7.

The Mustangs play in the Roland-Story tournament at 4:30 p.m. on Monday in Story City. Their final home match of the season is against Greene County at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Monroe.