Iowa Western bounces back after first loss

Iowa Western bounces back after first loss
September 23, 2021

Courtesy of the Daily Nonpareil:

Peter Huguenin
 
After starting the season 8-0, NJCAA D-I No. 2 Iowa Western fell to No. 7 Butler Community College (KS) 3-2 on Friday night at Butler's home invite.

The Reivers bounced back on Saturday to sweep both Laramie Community College and Independence Community College, finishing the tournament with three wins and one loss. Iowa Western swept Pratt Community College on Friday before losing to Butler.

Iowa Western defeated Pratt 25-18, 25-18, 25-16, lost to Butler 25-20, 17-25, 20-25, 25-23, 19-17, bounced back to defeat Laramie 25-21, 25-14, 25-14 and ended the weekend by sweeping Independence 25-15, 25-15, 25-8.

"I felt like we were kind of sluggish all week," head coach Alicia Williams said. "That transpired some sluggish play throughout the weekend. Butler caught us when we weren't at our best.

 
 "At the same time I feel like it was really good for us to go through some of those growing pains now when we have some time to work on some of those things instead of late in the game when we don't have time to work on them. Overall we did fine. We bounced back on Saturday and played a little bit better. I just feel like our emotions got the best of us and physically we were a little bit tired this weekend."
 Williams added she was happy to see her team bounce back on Saturday as they did.

"I definitely think it's good the girls worked on some things that we talked about the night before after our loss. Just to be able to stay positive too, after such a heartbreaker. It was 17-19 in the fifth set, you can't get much closer than that.

 
 "I think just the positivity that they brought forth the next day was really good for us to see as a team. We definitely have some things to work on."

Williams said she still wants to see the Reivers improve in mentally taking care of the ball and cutting down on errors.

"We weren't completely focused or maybe we were too nervous," she said. "(I'd like to see) us play with some more confidence. We had so many errors. In the fifth set alone, we had six or seven errors that were just given to the other team."

Williams said that sophomore Yadhira Anchante and sophomore Dayan Malave both looked impressive during the weekend.

 
 Anchante tallied 153 assists, 19 kills, 50 digs, seven blocks and four serving aces.

"Anchante just continues to lead our team and impress us with just her composure and being able to take care of the ball and her decision making is really top notch. I hope she can continue that," Williams said.

"I think Dayan Malave has really taken a step from her role last year to this year. She's taken on a lot more responsibility from last year."

 

https://nonpareilonline.com/sports/amateur/iowa-western-bounces-back-after-first-loss/article_e84e2276-1a5f-11ec-a911-d73dd8c924b9.html