Baxter volleyball cruises past Colo-NESCO

BAXTER — Baxter senior setter Kaitlyn Headlee is being asked to do a lot more this season than she was in previous years.

Bolts head coach Joe Morton has changed the system, and it requires Headlee to set the ball to 10 different spots on the floor. It took some time to adjust, but Headlee is starting to find her groove.

And having multiple options to set to on Tuesday made things a lot easier.

The Bolts finished with 29 kills and had a kill efficiency of .511 during a 25-14, 25-5, 25-14 sweep of Colo-NESCO during Iowa Star Conference South Division action.

"I love having options," said Headlee, who finished with 24 assists. "It's make my decision a lot easier. It's been a challenge for me early on, but I am getting it figured out. I know where I need to put it now."

The Bolts (7-4 overall, 1-0 in conference play) won their conference opener in large part because of 23 aces. Six players tallied at least two aces on the night.

"We knew from the film we had on them that we could serve in a few spots and have success," Morton said. "We were hoping for a few easy points or to put them out of system. We obviously did much better than that."

The Bolts had no trouble finishing sets, but the Royals (2-9, 0-1) hung around early in the first and third games.

Tied at 7-all, Abbey Shepley stepped up to the service line and turned momentum to the home team with three consecutive aces. She had five aces on the night and the Bolts led 14-7 when her service run ended.

The Royals never got closer than four the rest of the way. An Amber Weltha kill ended the set at 25-15.

"We have been talking a lot about roles. Every team needs a serving specialist," Morton said. "Ours is Abbey. We know she can come off the bench and serve it aggressively and give us what we need. Her confidence is growing. And it gives us a good weapon as we move forward."

Baxter had no trouble in the second set. Weltha had three kills and two aces in the frame, while Sophie Meyer tallied back-to-back kills late in the set. A service error by Colo-NESCO gave the Bolts a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Bolts fell behind for the first time since the opening set early in the third but Meyer had a kill and an ace on consecutive points to tie it and her second ace of the frame put the Bolts up 4-2.

The Royals got back within 6-5, but Baxter pulled away behind the hitting and serving of Weltha, Meyer and Bekka Watt. Watt's fifth kill of the night ended the match and gave the Bolts their first three-game sweep of the season.

"I think we have gotten a lot better. Our defense and serve receive has been better," Headlee said. "I think we are finally starting to figure out the new system."

Weltha, Meyer and Watt sprayed the ball all over the floor against the Royals. Weltha finished with 12 kills and now has 137 on the season. Meyer tallied seven kills and Watt put down five.

"We have been working on deceptive hitting. We want to keep our opponents guessing," Morton said. "It showed tonight. We had some really impressive kills. And they didn't know they were coming.

"Kaitlyn is also putting the ball in better spots. She gave them good passes."

It's a busy week for the Bolts, who played three matches last night and return to action against Collins-Maxwell on Thursday. It was crucial for Morton that his team get the sweep to conserve as much energy as possible.

"We knew we would need some high energy tonight after playing three matches last night," Morton said. "We also wanted to sweep because we play again in two days. It was nice to get a quick one in."

Maddie Pierce tallied a team-high 12 digs on the night and now has 130 for the season. Weltha finished with six digs.

Shepley and Watt each had five aces, Weltha and Meyer both had four, Pierce served up three aces and Headlee tallied two.

The Bolts were 67-of-73 in serves as a team. Weltha was 14-of-14 and Watt was 11-of-11. Meyer served 11-of-12 and Pierce was 10-of-11.

Baxter's conference match with Collins-Maxwell is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on Thursday in Maxwell. The Bolts earned a two-game sweep of the Spartans on Monday.