Journey Blevins of North Union (right) attempts to block a shot over the net by Fairbanks’ Jayda Rausch (15) on Saturday. NU ran its record to 17-1 with a three-set sweep on its home court. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Fairbanks varsity volleyball coach Ryanne Ufferman had one thing in mind when her squad played at North Union on Saturday.
“We wanted to come up here and be competitive,” she said. “I think we did that during the final set.”
The non-conference battle between Union County rivals got off to a rocky start for FHS as North Union rolled to a 25-12 victory in the opener.
“We respect North Union a great deal,” said Ufferman, whose team slipped to 12-8 on the season. “However, we just had that ‘deer in the headlights’ look during the first game.”
The Lady Cats (17-1) claimed a 25-17 verdict during the ensuing set and rallied for a 25-21 victory to complete the sweep.
“Fairbanks is a great team,” said North Union coach Alexis Maenz. “They gave us some long rallies, but the girls stayed focused when things were tight.
“We were resilient.”
The story of the match centered around North Union’s senior duo of setter Jordyn Hoffman and hitter Journey Blevins.
The Lady Panthers had trouble dealing with the 6-0 Blevins’ blasts over the net.
She finished the match with 20 kills, while Hoffman was credited with 31 assists.
Hoffman set kills not only for Blevins, but also for Grace Brandt and Kaitlyn DeLauter during the opening set.
FHS (which will host Northeastern on Tuesday), though, pulled to within 15-10 when NU hit the ball out of play.
Hoffman aided kills by Blevins and Regan Martino to push NU out to a 20-10 margin.
An errant Panther hit put North Union at set point, 24-11.
Fairbanks sent a dig off the court for the Lady Cats’ victory.
DeLauter and Blevins teamed for a block that gave NU an early 3-1 edge during the ensuing set.
A tip kill by FHS’ Elle Johnson narrowed the gap to 7-4.
The Lady Panthers, however, couldn’t contend with North Union’s front line play for the next several minutes.
Blevins and Cambria Skaggs combined for a block that gave North Union a 15-8 advantage.
Anna Higbee tallied Fairbanks’ next point with a kill.
FHS, though, couldn’t cut its deficit to less than five points the rest of the way.
The Lady Cats took a 2-0 lead in sets on hitting and digging miscues by Fairbanks.
Ufferman saw improved play from her squad during the final set.
“We moved without the ball much better,” she said. “We know we have to track the ball well when we’re playing teams with strong hitters who can send it in different directions.”
North Union (which will host Graham on Tuesday) held a 15-11 lead after a block from Blevins.
The Lady Panthers, however, did a better job of covering the Lady Cats’ front line.
FHS climbed to within 16-15 when Caydee Breneman and Jayda Rausch teamed for a block.
An NU hitting error later tied the set at 17-all.
The Lady Panthers went on top 19-17 after a couple of NU hitting and serve reception mistakes.
North Union regained a 21-20 edge when Hoffman set another kill for Blevins.
Breneman deadlocked the match at 21 with a kill.
Fairbanks lost track of the ball in the rafters and then sent it sailing out of play for a 23-21 NU edge.
Blevins’ next block left North Union one point away (24-21) from the sweep.
The match ended when FHS couldn’t handle a serve by Hoffman.
The errant reception gave the Lady Cats their final point and the three-set triumph.
“The girls came together at the right moment,” said Maenz.
Additional stats for the match were as follows:
NU
-Blevins: five blocks, two ace serves;
-DeLauter: two ace serves, five kills.
FHS
-Higbee: six kills:
-Breneman: five kills;
-Rausch and Lizzie Nicol: 13 digs apiece.