Gutsy GMG netters swept by C-M

Wolverines show progress despite loss to Collins-Maxwell

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - GMG junior middle hitter Jenna Yilek (20) goes up for the attack against Collins-Maxwell’s Reagan Franzen (8) during Thursday’s Iowa Star Conference volleyball match in Garwin.

GARWIN — It was an imperfect night in an imperfect season for GMG volleyball. The Wolverines were left to look for the positives after a 3-0 loss to Collins-Maxwell Thursday night, the second time this season the Spartans (5-8) have beaten GMG (3-10).

Wolverines head coach Brycelyn Haughey said she saw improvement in Thursday’s game from their first matchup with the Spartans.

“I’m really proud of how they came out,” Haughey said. “We got beat by them earlier in the season and we were a lot further behind on points.”

The Wolverines got off to a strong start in the first set, jumping to a 6-2 advantage and forcing an early timeout from the Spartans. From then on, though, the Wolverines struggled to maintain momentum and stop Collins-Maxwell runs. The Spartans ran away with a 25-17 set win.

Collins-Maxwell was attacking often with two players reaching double-digits — Elise Robertson had 15 and Reagan Franzen recorded 12. The Wolverines were led by Jenna Yilek and Adelyn Sienknecht with six each. Madi Lewis had 12 assists.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

This has been a difficult season for GMG. It’s Haughey’s first as a head coach and the team has been making changes from the ground up.

The start of this season was just about getting back to basics, Haughey said — including how to set, spike and dig. She said the start of the year brought positional changes as well.

“We made a whole bunch of different changes throughout the season and so our first game was a little rough,” Haughey said. “We were still kind of learning where to go and where I should put different people.”

Since the first game, it’s clear that GMG has been making strides but still has room to grow before competing for conference titles and giving teams like North Tama a run.

The Wolverines fought tooth and nail in the second set, holding the lead for much of the action and coming within a point of taking the win. But a late 4-0 run turned a 24-22 GMG lead into a 26-24 win for the Spartans.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

Defensively, the Wolverines were led in digs by Sienknecht with 10 and Desirae Baldazo with eight. Emily Vaughn and Maya Goos had the team’s only solo blocks of the contest.

In the third set, the Wolverines again took an early lead but were bypassed by Collins-Maxwell runs. The Spartans nearly let GMG back in the game by giving up a 24-18 advantage but finished off the sweep 25-22.

It’s the 10th loss of the year for GMG heading into its final regular-season game against Baxter.

Haughey said the team is continuing to learn and will know what to take from the loss Thursday to improve upon against the Bolts.

Baxter hosts GMG Tuesday night.

: T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING – GMG junior middle hitter Jenna Yilek (20) goes up for the attack against Collins-Maxwell’s Reagan Franzen (8) during Thursday’s Iowa Star Conference volleyball match in Garwin.