Deer Creek-Mackinaw edges Hartsburg-Emden in Volleyball

[August 31, 2018] 

Two volleyball powerhouses, Hartem and Dee-Mack (for short), faced off Thursday night in just the second match of the season for each team.

Dee-Mack was coming off a season-opening three set loss to Pleasant Plains (28-26, 21-25 and 16-25) on Monday night.

Hartem had taken care of business in Tuesday night's season-opener by knocking off Delavan 25-12 and 25-10.

Thursday night's matchup was bound to be a good one and indeed it was as close as you can get in volleyball. Dee-Mack rose to the occasion on Hartem's home court and edged the Stags in a thriller, 25-23 and 27-25 the scores.

For Hartem head coach Jennifer Hayes the loss was a tough one and following the match she said, "If you want something great you have to work for it. Earn it. Dee-Mack worked harder tonight. Period. We're better than we played tonight."

Dee-Mack head coach Brandon Mueller knows that feeling well, too, as his ball club that showed up in Hartsburg was a different one that showed up in the opener versus Pleasant Plains. That's just the nature of the game.

Set one 25-23

The Chiefs were in control of set one, spreading the lead out to as high as 22-16. A couple big kills by Grace Beekman and Anna Hayes kept the Stags alive and even allowed them to pull within a point, 24-23. But Dee-Mack would end the set on a kill and take it by a score of 25-23.

Set two 27-25

The Stags rolled out to a 10-5 lead in set two over the Chiefs. After a long volley between the two teams, Beekman ended things with a monstrous kill and Hartem was in command 13-8.

The Chiefs inched their way back and it was Addy Gruse making noise for Dee-Mack with a kill that practically left a dent in the floor. She pounded the ball straight down and after that it appeared the Stags were a little shook. The score went from 14-11 to 14-14 in a hurry.

Intensely the score flip-flopped back and forth, resting at 17-17 after Beekman, a sophomore, showed further proof she can annihilate a volleyball at this level. The next play proved a bit of a blur so the referees called for a replay and the Stags took advantage by jumping out to a 19-17 lead.

Sophomore Brianna Grabowski hammered one home showing the fans what she's capable of and Hartem had the 21-18 lead. Another kill by Beekman extended the lead to 22-18.

The Chiefs never gave up.

Hartem and Dee-Mack offered fans an exciting match in Hartsburg.

The score was 22-20 when Alaina Bradburn rose to the occasion for the Stags and it was her kill extending the Hartem lead to 23-20.

A couple Hartem hitting errors later and the Chiefs were in the thick of things, 23-22 now the score. A long serve by Dee-Mack put Hartem in the driver's seat 24-22 and, well then, the wheels fell off the Stags bus so to speak. A bad pass from the Hartem back row was the first mishap. That was followed by a block by Hartem that sent the ball flying out of bounds. Tie ballgame, 24-24. But then the Stags caught a break with a serve in the net by Dee-Mack. It didn't take long for Dee-Mack to tie the game back up on a kill by Gruse, 25-25 the score.

One bad set later and Hartem was in trouble and needing to call AAA for roadside assistance. Dee-Mack blocked a hit by Hayes to end the set with a 27-25 victory.

Hartem evens their Varsity season record at 1-1.

The Hartem JV team defeated the Dee-Mack JV team in two sets, 25-7 and 25-13.

On Saturday Hartem will play in the Casey-Westfield Tournament.

Hartem Varsity Stats

Anna Hayes 9 kills 4 points 6 digs
Grace Beekman 9 kills 8 assists 3 digs
Lexi Barry 9 digs
Alaina Bradburn 3 kills 3 blocks

Dee-Mack Varsity Stats

Jadyn Block 6 kills 11 digs
Addy Gruse 6 kills
Audrey Thomann 5 kills
Carson Smalley 6 kills 7 digs 2 aces
Lily McCarthy 3 kills 3 digs
Kassie Rich 2 kills 11 digs
Kaitlin Creager 2 digs
Morgan Burr 3 digs
Shelby DeBolt 3 digs

[Teena Lowery]