Adrian senior hitter Andrea Burzlaff slips the ball past a Jackson County Central blocker at the net during Tuesday's volleyball match in Adrian. The visiting Huskies swept a three-game match from the Dragons, who posted their first conference win since 1999 at home Thursday night.
By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian volleyball team experienced some ups and downs during the second week of the regular season.
The Dragons posted their first win of the season and first conference victory since 1999 when they nipped Red Rock Central in a five-game match played in Adrian Thursday.
Things went the other way for AHS when it went 0-5 during the Westbrook-Walnut Grove Tournament in Westbrook Saturday. The Dragons lost a three-game home match to Jackson County Central Tuesday.
Adrian, 1-8 overall, plays in Westbrook tonight before hosting Hills-Beaver Creek Tuesday.
JCC 3, Adrian 0
The Dragons couldn't keep the home momentum gained by beating RRC Thursday when they dropped a three-game match to the Huskies Tuesday.
JCC controlled play during the match by outscoring an uninspired AHS 45-14 in 15-2, 15-8 and 15-4 wins.
"The girls have to fire up, play with enthusiasm and communicate a little better on the floor," said Dragon coach Kim Hoff. "When we talk more on the floor, we play better. We also have to serve better than we did (AHS was 30 of 40 serving). Everyone missed at least one serve."
The Huskies raced to a 6-0 lead in Game 1 before Adrian's Becky Knips served an ace and another point to make it a 6-2 difference.
JCC, however, scored the next nine points to lock up a 13-point win.
The Huskies scored the first four points of Game 2, but the Dragons countered with a four-point run consisting of an ace tip and service point by Kelli Von Holtum, and service points by Andrea Burzlaff and Carmen Erlandson to knot the score at four.
JCC moved in front 6-4 moments later before Adrian used two ace serves and another point by Jenna Honermann to take its first lead of the match at 7-6.
Adrian's surge didn't last as JCC went on a 9-1 run the rest of the game to prevail by seven points.
Ace serves by Kylie Heronimus and Burzlaff gave AHS 1-0 and 4-3 cushions during the third game, but JCC scored the final 12 points to win by 11 counters.
Von Holtum and Heronimus led AHS with four and three kills respectively. Honermann was seven of eight serving and recorded 10 set assists. Erlandson was six of eight serving with five points.
W-WG tourney
The Dragons dropped five consecutive matches and placed fourth during Saturday's four-team tournament in Westbrook.
Taking on three Red Rock Conference foes, Adrian went 0-3 in round-robin action and dropped two more tests in the championship rounds.
The Dragons did force three-game matches in three of the five contests, but they couldn't break through and pick up a win.
"We played OK; we just didn't play well at the right times," said Dragon coach Hoff. "We need to become more of an offensive threat. We passed the ball pretty well, but we missed some important serves at crucial times. Our blocking is getting better. Defensively, we need to work on moving to the ball a little better."
Adrian took on W-WG to open the tournament and came up on the short end of 15-10 and 15-4 tallies.
After dropping 15-3 and 15-8 games to Murray County Central in the second round, the Dragons beat Fulda 15-4 in Game 1 of the third round before falling 15-11 and 15-9 in the final two tests.
Adrian was pitted against MCC in the semifinals of the championship round, and the Dragons opened the match with a 16-14 win. The Rebels, however, took the next two games by 15-2 and 15-9 tallies.
The Dragons beat Fulda 15-7 in the first game of the match for third and fourth place. The Raiders bounced back to win 15-13 and 15-11 in the final two games.
Kylie Heronimus had 26 kills and five ace blocks at the net, while Andrea Burzlaff recorded 12 blocks and 17 kills. Becky Knips had 13 kills and six blocks.
Jenna Honermann had 40 set assists for the Dragons, who could gain revenge against all three teams they faced Saturday.
"We battled hard and played each team pretty well. When we play them again in the regular season, the kids should feel good about their chances of beating them. We just have to make sure everyone is playing well," Hoff said.
Adrian 3, RRC 2
The Dragons accomplished something in their third outing that they were unable to do in the 2000 season.
Coming off a winless Red Rock Conference campaign last fall, the Dragons opened league play in style by nipping the defending RRC champion Falcons in a five-game match in Adrian Thursday.
The Dragons pulled out a tight 17-15 win in Game 1 before taking a 2-0 lead with a 15-9 victory in the second game.
RRC battled back to tie the match at two with 15-11 and 15-9 victories in Games 3 and 4, but Adrian prevailed 15-12 in the fifth game to win the match.
"It was very exciting," said Dragon coach Hoff. "We hung in there to win Game 1 and played well in Game 2, but the momentum switched, and we didn't play well in Games 3 and 4. In the fifth game, our passing was good and we played some scrappy defense."
Kylie Heronimus, who led AHS with 19 kills, put the ball away five times in the decisive fifth game. Becky Knips, who was credited with playing a consistent match, was 35 of 37 serving with 23 points.
Andrea Burzlaff served 14 points while going 23 of 26 at the line. She also had seven kills. Kelli Von Holtum, who contributed five kills to the cause, was 21 of 24 serving with 13 points. Jenna Honermann had 34 set assists for the Dragons.