The West Central Trojan volleyball team traveled to face the Dakota Valley Panthers on Tuesday, September 22nd. The Panthers would win the match in four sets by scores of 16-25, 25-21, 25-18, and 25-14.
After an early 2-2 tie, the Trojans took a 6-5 lead. Dakota Valley would bounce in front by a point at 9-8. That’s when West Central went on an 8-2 run to go in front 16-11. They pushed their lead all the way to nine points, 24-15, before winning 25-16 to start the match.
The Trojans took an early 4-3 lead to start the second set. The Panthers grabbed an 8-7 lead only to see the Trojans go back in front 12-11. Dakota Valley, however, went on a 7-1 run for an 18-13 lead. The Trojans battled back to within two points, 20-18, and then eventually to tie the score 20-20. Dakota Valley, however, finished the second set on a 4-1 run to even the match at 1-1.
That late run gave the Panthers a little momentum. They started with a 5-1 run in the third set. Dakota Valley continued to lead at 9-4, but West Central responded with a 6-1 spurt to tie the score 10-10. The Panthers went back in front 14-12 and continued to build their lead from there. They extended the advantage to 23-15 before winning 25-18.
Dakota Valley then went on a 5-0 run to start the second set. They would go ahead by seven points, 14-7. West Central chipped away and got within four points, 16-12, but that was as close as they could get. The Panthers finished the set, and the match, with a 9-2 run for a 25-14 final score.
