History will be made in the ANEC as the first ever Volleyball Game of the Week preview is here. It’s going to be different from the basketball and football previews because I’m not quite at the X’s and O’s mindset with volleyball as I am with those two sports. But I’ll give it a shot at talking about some volleyball. Tonight, the Angola Lady Hornets travel to Bishop Dwenger to take on the Lady Saints. This has been a house of horrors for Angola volleyball throughout their hideout, and tonight they’ll look to end this losing skid at the Saintuary. To recap what they’ve done so far, here’s where they’re at right now.
For Angola, they’ve only played 1 match and that came in a sweep of Columbia City. Not bad for a first game as Morgan Gaerte led the way with 11 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks and 5 digs. Meanwhile, Dwenger is off to a 0-3 start for the first time in what feels like forever…it just rarely happens when it’s Bishop Dwenger. But when you take a look at the schedule, you can see why. Dwenger’s opponents are already 5-1 on the season: Penn, LaPorte, and Bellmont. Yes, I’m not a fan of just going by the schedule, but Dwenger’s competition along with players taking on much larger roles than what they’re accustomed to plus a new coach in Olivia Current. The thing I see here is Dwenger’s slow start feels like learning how to ride a bike. While Dwenger is still talented, it sort of feels like they’re working their way back to playing volleyball the Big, Bad Dwenger way. So, don’t let the record fool you, especially since Dwenger will be happy to be playing on their home court again.
Let’s talk about the stats. Angola averages 10.3 kills per set led by the Notre Dame commit Morgan Gaerte who currently has a total of 11 kills from the Columbia City game. So far, Mya Ball and Tyrah Stillman have 6 kills. Angola is also hitting 36.9% from the floor. Will that continue? I don’t know, but it’s a good start. Dwenger is actually averaging 10.8 kills per set led by junior Avery Hudson with a total of 34 (where she was held to 5 last night at Bellmont). Loretta Pelkington, who had 6 kills to lead Dwenger last night, has 22 to come in second. But Dwenger is hitting just 14.2% so far.
Serving is where things get interesting as Angola averages 5.3 aces per set led by the UCF commit Mya Ball with 7, but never ever overlook Gaerte’s serving because when she’s on a roll, good luck slowing her down with that 6’4 height and ridiculous wingspan. Dwenger, on the other hand, has started the season ice cold from the serving line averaging just 1.4 aces per set led by Emma Tone with 4. Dwenger will need to have a good night from the serving line if they want to have a better showing tonight than they did at Bellmont.
So far, Dwenger’s size will tell you that they dominate up front led by Gabbie Stores and Loretta Pelkington who combine for 17 blocks already. Angola only has 7 so far, but don’t let Macy Oberlin and Morgan Gaerte fool you there. So really it’s pretty balanced when it comes to size and blocks. Digs do favor Dwenger and that’s where one of the state’s elite defensive specialists come in play. Senior Lexa Zimmerman averages 6.5 digs per set, where she had 17 against Bellmont by herself. Zimmerman is a fantastic athlete that has a strong feel to the match on where the ball is heading and having that extra will to make the big stops.. After all, she’s one of the remaining state champs from 2020, so she knows what it takes to win at the varsity level every night. Avery Hudson does a nice job averaging over 4 digs per set. It’s a very talented team that’s not quite firing on all cylinders yet, but only in flashes. Having those seniors like Lexa is huge when you’re going through these types of starts where nothing is going their way.
Angola has yet to show their best with that side of the court as Saint Francis commit Paige Franz averages 3 digs per set and sophomore Ava Harris averages 2 digs per set. But as you know, Paige Franz has built herself to being one heck of a Libero and defensive specialist. And the Harris sisters have shown that same presence as well.
Bishop Dwenger usually dominates this series with Angola as they’ve beaten the Hornets in 8 of their last 10 matches. The only time Dwenger has lost to Angola came in 2019 where Dwenger lost in 4 sets at Angola and lost in 5 sets in the sectional championship game at Angola. As Mark Cockroft said the night Angola won its first sectional in 23 years “Down goes Dwenger!!” One of the greatest comebacks in Angola history.
Here are the keys to tonight’s match
1. Reduce the number of Self-Inflicted Errors
Angola has yet to be tested there because of the competition they faced Saturday. But they’ll need to have a good showing with their passing and attack in an effort to put themselves in a good position. Dwenger has had its share of issues so far with the errors. They’ve already committed 65 attack errors and 26 serve errors. If you watch the Bellmont match, you can see how Dwenger was falling behind the entire night because of how dominant Bellmont played + the heavy amount of errors being made by Dwenger due to miscommunication on their positioning and not getting good sets. If the Saints can have better starts and maintain a good offensive rhythm that could get them going. The less self-inflicted errors each team can make, the better chance they have at changing the outcome of the match as a whole.
2. Defense!
These two teams are very known to being able to fly to the ball and making plays out of nowhere. Plus on top of the fact both schools have had their fair share of tremendous size and volleyball athleticism. That kind of athleticism has a different feel when you watch volleyball matches compare to other sports. Angola will need to make sure they’re communicating well and are doing a good job of getting to the ball and staying composed.
Dwenger did not perform there last night as Bellmont hit 40% from the field last night. That number has to go down for Dwenger to show improvement.
3. Make the Middle Blockers Work
One thing you’ll notice here is Dwenger’s strength comes from their ability to disrupt play from the middle blockers/hitters. That’s been the one thing that’s thrown off the Hornets in the past. So for Angola, you want to make sure your passes are crisp and be prepared to finish the play. That means you will have to force Dwenger’s blockers to guess where the ball is going and make them earn their opportunities. Bellmont did that exact thing last night and Dwenger was unable to match the intensity Bellmont brought from their outside hitters.
For Dwenger, this is where your outside hitters need to have a better showing because when they play well, that’ll allow their middle hitters and blockers to establish their positioning and be able to know when the ball is coming. But when you graduated some big names like Eva Hudson, there’s going to be a transition period for those hitters to stay repetitive with their style of play. It’s no different than any other sport where kids with not as much experience are learning how to communicate with their teammates on the field. And let’s not forget they also graduated Emma Lyons who was great at distributing the ball, that’s very important for any team let alone a SAC powerhouse.
The challenge with Angola, and I do think Dwenger will test them here, is they’ll need to ensure that they’re able to have this balanced offensive lineup where any player can step in and make that big kill or that big play to force their opponents to make mistakes. With Senior Brea Harris out due to an injury, this great Angola depth needs to prove it’s still pretty darn good. Again, I look for Mya Ball to be all over the floor tonight, as well as Stillman, and Senior Kady Conrad.
The ideal situation is you want this Angola offense to be clicking at the exact same page and have that confidence to simply dominate their game. If teams have to start worrying more about other kids like Mya, Tyrah, Macy, Kady, or one of the other Harris kids, that’s a matchup nightmare. The way Bellmont showed most of last night is sort of where I want to see Angola’s energy and focus at is having this assertive and direct approach of ‘we’re going to dominate every opening of each set, and we’re confident that any one of us is going to make that big play. This is where having to deal with the adversity of losing Brea is an obstacle Angola has to overcome this season.
Players to Watch
Bishop Dwenger
Loretta Pelkington Senior Middle Blocker
When this girl is having a good night, look out Loretta. She can play as a offensive threat, a great middle blocker, and she can get back and get that crucial dig. I look for the Saints to really emphasize on using some of their size to contain Angola’s offensive explosion and keep Morgan Gaerte from having one of her monster games.
Stores is a player I really like for her efforts in front of the net and being a massive offensive disruptor. But when Pelkington is on her game, that combo of Pelkington and Stores is a formidable 1-2 punch up the middle. Unfortunately for them, they’ve faced some excellent competition, and Bellmont was the one that really shredded that defense with their elite attack. Now if those two can start clicking better on the offensive side to go along their tremendous defensive presence, then that changes the game plan for Angola where they have to be a little more strategic.
Angola
Morgan Gaerte Junior Outside Hitter
I mean it has to be her simply because she has had her biggest performances against this team. In her career against Dwenger, Gaerte has recorded 43 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, and 15 digs, with her last match against Dwenger having her record 22 kills. If she can be just as productive + do the other Morgan Gaerte things that make opposing teams have a massive migraine like her massive ace streaks, her multiple blocks, and the highlight reel plays, that could be something special to watch. Again, I’m fascinated to see how this Dwenger team tries to frustrate Gaerte because trying to slow down a talent this elite at 6’4 is a huge task.
A under the radar player to watch would be someone like freshman Maya Harris. With her now getting a bigger role on the team, I do wonder how Lloy will utilize her because he’s going to need every player to have a great match.
Conclusion
Tonight marks the first big test for Angola to see where they stand with the area’s better teams. Angola knows if they win at Dwenger, it would be a statement win for everyone to take notice. For Dwenger, this is a great opportunity to stop the streak and get back on track. Once Dwenger starts to get on a roll, I don’t want to play them when they’re hot. So, a win like this is massive for both programs. Everyone in the 260 will have their eyes on this match!
Around the NorthEast Corner 