Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Jed Blackwell

In the third set of Wednesday’s volleyball win over Crest, Polk County’s Mia Bradley lofted a return all the way across the court, just over the net, as three Chargers watched it fall. The space it hit was just wide enough for a volleyball to land inbounds.

Sometimes it’s just your night.

The point gave the Wolverines a 17-10 advantage, and while Crest was able to rally later in the set, Polk County soon put it away, taking a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-18) win.

“We really work on seeing the court and seeing what’s open and talking to each other about it,” Polk County coach Molly Hill said. “They did that tonight. Crest had two big middle blockers, and we adjusted really well. We just kept putting the ball where we needed it, and it worked out in our favor.”

The Wolverines (10-0) pulled away late in all three games, as Crest (6-3) pushed them on more than one occasion. Time and again, though, Polk County got big points from different players to spark a rally. 

Sophia Overholt had back-to-back aces in game one to turn a 21-16 lead into 23-16 as the Wolverines cruised from there. In game two, a huge kill by Kylie Lewis with the Wolverines clinging to a 21-20 lead sparked the run that ended the game. And in the final game, leading 22-18, Elena Carroll had back-to-back aces to set up the win

“She has a great serve,” Hill said of Carroll, who had six aces on the night. “She’s super aggressive with it, and it’s really hard to pass. She did great tonight. She’s one of our top servers on the team, and I was proud of her stepping up when we needed her.”

Hill was equally proud of her team’s performance following a brutal early schedule.

“We’ve had a busy, busy schedule, and I think that kind of showed tonight,” she said. “But they rallied and I felt like they turned it over when we needed to turn it over, and I was really proud of them for that.”

Overholt led the Wolverines in kills with 10, with Lewis adding nine, Ada Kelley chipping in eight, Morgan Yoder adding seven, and Bradley recording six. Zalea Eller had 20 assists for the Wolverines, while Charley Duesnbury had 16. Caroll had 18 digs, with Bradley adding 12.