Josie Duncan of North Union sets the ball during a volleyball match against Urbana Tuesday. Duncan reached her 1,000th career assist during the 3-1 victory.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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The life of a setter in volleyball is a humbling position, according to North Union head coach Peg Curts.
Josie Duncan is the Lady Cats’ setter and Tuesday night’s 3-1 win against Urbana in was cause for celebration for two reasons.
The triumph kept NU undefeated in the Central Buckeye Conference, but also saw Duncan reach the 1,000 assist milestone for her career.
“She (Duncan) understands as a setter that she doesn’t get any of those assists if there is not a kill afterwards,” Curts said. “So it is a very humbling position to play, because most players get the accolades for the kill or some great save.”
Duncan went into the match against the Lady Hillclimbers only eight assists away from the milestone.
The Lady Cats found themselves down early during the opening as Urbana took a healthy 13-3 lead.
North Union battled back with the help of Duncan and her hitters to pull the game even at 19-19.
The early setback is something of which Curts is all too familiar.
“We are getting behind on the first set and then we have to dig ourselves out,” she said. “We need to stop doing that. We have had conversations about going in and being aggressive right away and getting points early.”
The Lady Cats gained the momentum to win the opening game 25-20 after Duncan provided an assists to Journey Blevins for the set point.
Curts believes the sluggish start was due to the Lady Cats’ nerves to help their teammate reach the milestone.
“I think we were nervous about this evening because we knew this accomplishment was going to happen and we wanted it to happen for her (Duncan),” she said. “I think they were thinking about that more than the game. However, they finally got going.”
The Lady Cats kept it going in set two with the Duncan-Blevins connection to take an early 5-1 lead.
Duncan needed only two more assists as Urbana kept the game close.
The visitors pulled to within 6-4, but Duncan was not going to be stopped.
Duncan set the ball for Blevins for a blast over the middle of the net and give the Lady Cats an 11-5 lead and Duncan her milestone.
Curts believes the communication on the floor has not only helped her team play well this season, but also helped Duncan reach her 1,000th career assist.
“I think there is more communication going on between the setter and the hitters this year,” she said. “It is almost like a pitcher and a catcher or a quarterback and his receivers.
“There has to be communication, so they talk a lot on the floor about what play they are going to run and that is what is needed.”
The Lady Cats maintained the upper hand to win set two 25-16.
North Union charged out to a 12-6 margin in the third game.
The Lady Climbers, though, were not going to go down without a fight.
Urbana started to slowly climb out of the early hole to pull even at 21-all.
The two sides swapped the lead back-and-forth for the next several points before Urbana forced a fourth set with a 26-24 win.
North Union was able to keep a lead on the Lady Climbers, but only by a slim margin through the majority of the match.
That was until the 15-14 mark. Grace Brandt, a sophomore, rotated into the game as a middle hitter for the Lady Cats. She blocked an Urbana hit and shifted the momentum of the set.
Brandt continued to be a force in the final points of the set.
She collected two more points, one being the set point to give NU a 25-16 win and the match.
“We are really playing well as a team this year and stats don’t always show you what’s going on on the floor,” Curts said. “There is always going to be your stand-out people, whether it is kills, assists or digs. It has taken the whole team to pull off these wins.”
Duncan finished the match with 37 assists to bring her career total to 1,029.
The Lady Cats are 5-0 in the CBC and 9-3 overall. North Union will return to the home court on Thursday to take on Tecumseh.