Mustangs sweep Saydel in HOIC play

MONROE — Prairie City-Monroe's volleyball team was able to snap a six-game losing skid on Thursday night. But coach Mike Vittetoe wasn't particularly pleased with how the Mustangs played.

Still, not playing up to expectations and winning in straight sets is much better than suffering another loss.

PCM took care of business in its home opener against Saydel, winning 25-20, 25-17, 25-12 during Heart of Iowa Conference play.

"It was important to get a win to get some confidence back," PCM senior setter Shelby Voeller said. "I believe in these girls. Hopefuly they start believing in themselves and know that we can put balls down in games like we do in practice."

Voeller had 20 assists and a pair of digs on the night. She set up junior Celeste Wagaman 22 times and Wagaman finished with a team-high 12 kills. Her hitting percentage was .364.

"I am glad Celeste came to play. She hit the ball well," Vittetoe said. "It just seemed like an off night for most of the kids."

The Mustangs were never seriously threatened by the Eagles in any set. And two of the four wins PCM has this year have come against Saydel.

The first set was even at 7-all before a 7-0 run on junior Jacki Vos' serve put PCM ahead for good. The Mustangs maintained a four-point advantage after a pair of kills by Wagaman, but Saydel rallied to get within 21-20 late.

PCM answered with the final four points, including a kill by Vos.

The Mustangs (4-12 overall, 1-1 in the HOIC) jumped out to another lead in the second set. Kills by Wagaman gave PCM leads of 4-2 and 5-3, but Saydel (1-5, 0-2) rallied to take a 12-11 lead.

PCM recovered with four straight points to go back in front, and the Mustangs never trailed again.

"We reverted back to the way we were playing at the beginning of the year," Vittetoe said. "I thought we were making progress, but we went backwards tonight.

"Our free ball passing was good. We received many and did a good job keeping them in front of our setter (Voeller), giving her many options to where to set the ball."

The third set was the most dominant for PCM, but the points Saydel did get came off Mustang miscues. Back-to-back kills by Wagaman tied the set at 3-all and PCM led the rest of the way after going up 6-4.

The Mustangs outscored the Eagles 19-8 after taking the lead and senior Chloe Inskeep finished off the sweep with an ace.

Overall, PCM was 58-of-72 in serves with five aces. And the team's hitting percentage was .078.

"We just had too many unforced errors tonight. And we did not served well either," Vittetoe said.

Voeller said playing in front of the home fans and an energetic student section may have given the Mustangs some nerves during the match. She's glad her team found a way to win on their home floor though.

"There were some positives tonight to go along with the negatives," Voeller said. "It was our first home game and the student section was big and loud. I think it will be very important to stay focused in future home games."

PCM had 23 kills as a team, and Wagaman had 12 of them. She now has a team-best 58 kills on the season. Junior Emma Houser finished with three kills, while Vos, junior Kassidy Block and sophomore Claire Wilson all had two kills.

Wilson chipped in a pair of digs and had an ace. Vos was 15-of-16 in serves and tallied two aces.

PCM plays North Polk at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Monroe.