The Blair High School volleyball team couldn't match Class B No. 2 Norris swing-for-swing Tuesday night, losing 3-0.
The hometown Bears (13-12 overall) could, however, for stretches, including a third-set rally at 5-5. In it, coach Jess Lansman's team outlasted the highly-touted Titans for the point, using Emma Ammon blocks, swings by Taylor Mostek and Nicki Wendt, and more.
“This season we have improved so much in a lot of areas, but, especially, winning those long rallies,” the coach said. “That was something we've talked about and that's something we're going to keep improving on.”
She hopes BHS will take advantage of its rally wins more often in the future, turning them into scoring streaks rather than single points. That said, “We have done a phenomenal job of really taking charge and winning those long rallies,” Lansman added.
The Bears also started strong against the 24-1 Titans, who won 25-17, 25-12 and 25-12. BHS led the opening set 4-1 at one point.
First, Madeline Chikos notched a kill on a Hailey Roewert assist. Ammon's kill made it 2-0 before a Mostek attack down the line gave the Bears their early three-point advantage.
Andi Hume, Chikos and Ammon added blocks as the set went on, but Norris still held a 24-15 lead before back-to-back ace serves by Roewert.
Even after that, though, the Titans earned a 1-0 lead by eight points. Their 2-0 advantage came despite accurate swings by Wendt, Roewert, Hume and others in second set, too.
Then, during the third, BHS won the rally, but Norris won the match.
“I feel like the scoreboard didn't reflect the things we got better at,” Lansman said. “This is obviously a very good team we just played, but I feel we came out and our blocking was phenomenal and our defense was, at times, phenomenal.”
The Norris Titans, however, were just a bit better on the floor in Blair.
Dig Pink match
Tuesday's contest was a Dig Pink match to benefit The Side-Out Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping people living with metastatic breast cancer.
BHS players wore pink during warmups and handed out flowers donated by Country Gardens to invited guests who've fought cancer or had their lives impacted by it. The school vowed to donate a portion of Tuesday night's admissions to The Side-Out Foundation, too. More information about it is available online at side-out.org.
BHS VOLLEYBALL LINE SCORE
Tuesday
No. 2 Norris 3, Blair 0
NHS (24-1) 25 25 25 — 3
BHS (13-12) 17 12 12 — 0
