Closing out two close sets kept the Nevis volleyball team undefeated in Northland Conference play Thursday night at the Tiger Arena.
The Tigers won clutch points down the stretch in Set 1 and Set 4 for a 25-23, 24-26, 25-13, 27-25 victory over Walker-Hackensack-Akeley.
Kills by Kia Heide, Ashley Pyburn and Montana Baker gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead in Set 1 before W-H-A rallied for a 7-6 lead. Two kills apiece by Baker and Heide gave Nevis a 12-10 edge before tip by Pyburn and a kill by Baker made it 19-16. After the Wolves took a 21-20 lead, the Tigers closed out the set behind two kills by Heide and a kill by Pyburn.
Three kills by Heide, kills by Pyburn and Baker, and an ace serve by Cora Umthun sparked the Tigers to a 12-10 lead in Set 2 before W-H-A took a 17-16 lead. A kill by Baker, a tip by Andrea Dudley, two kills by Heidi and a kill by Pyburn gave Nevis a 22-20 lead before the Wolves went on a 6-2 run to even the match.
Nevis controlled Set 3 as three kills apiece by Pyburn and Baker and two ace serves by Madison Neyens produced a 12-5 advantage. Two kills by Heidi and a tip by Jessica Swanda made it 16-6 before a dig by Viviana Viloria led to a point for a 19-9 advantage. A tip and kill by Baker, an ace serve by Neyens and a kill by Heide closed out that set.
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Pyburn opened Set 4 with three kills and Baker had a kill to give the Tigers a 7-4 lead. Two kills apiece by Heide and Pyburn kept the Tigers in front 14-13 before W-H-A rallied for a 22-19 advantage. Kills by Pyburn and Baker and two tips by Baker tied the set at 25-25 before Neyens served out the match.
Heide (17), Pyburn (17) and Baker (16) combined for 50 of the Tigers' 52 kills with Dudley setting up 45 of them. Sadie Thurner's 32 digs and Dudley's 15 digs helped the Tigers improve to 4-0 in the conference and 11-6 overall.
W-H-A fell to 4-1 in conference matches and 9-3 overall.
Nevis statistics
Attacks: Dudley 16 (1 kill), Thurner 2 (1 kill), Umthun 1, Baker 50 (16 kills), Swanda 8, Heide 30 (17 kills), Pyburn 51 (17 kills), Felt 4.
Serves: Viloria 15 for 17, Dudley 15 for 15, Thurner 17 for 17 (1 ace), Umthun 18 for 19 (1 ace), Baker 3 for 4, Neyens 11 for 11 (3 aces), Pyburn 1 for 17.
Sets: Dudley 116 (45 assists), Viloria 4 (1 assist), Turner 4 (1 assist), Umthun 4 (1 assist), Baker 4, Swanda 2, Heide 1, Pyburn 9 (1 assist), Felt 15 (2 assists).
Digs: Thurner 32, Dudley 15, Viloria 9, Pyburn 9, Felt 7, Umthun 4, Baker 3, Swanda 2, Heide 2, Vredenburg 1.
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Assisted blocks: Dudley 1, Swanda 1, Pyburn 1, Felt 1.
Serve receive: Viloria 6 for 6, Thurner 33 for 33, Umthun 4 for 6, Pyburn 24 for 25, Felt 11 for 11.
Tigers defeat Wildcats
Heide's six ace serves and 14 kills led the Tigers to a 20-25, 25-9, 25-13, 25-13 conference win over Laporte on Sept. 26.
Pyburn added 20 kills and 18 digs while Dudley had 40 set assists and 11 digs. Baker had 11 kills and Thurner had 25 digs for the Tigers.
Laporte fell to 2-3 in conference matches and 6-5 overall.
Nevis statistics
Attacks: Dudley 11 (1 kill), Swanda 10 (3 kills), Thurner 8, Baker 21 (11 kills), Viloria 2, Neyens 5 (3 kills), Heide 36 (14 kills), Pyburn 49 (20 kills).
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Serves: Dudley 20 for 21 (2 aces), Thurner 14 for 14 (2 aces), Umthun 12 for 12 (2 aces), Viloria 17 for 17, Heide 15 for 17 (6 aces), Pyburn 13 for 13 (1 ace).
Sets: Dudley 101 (40 assists), Swanda 4, Thurner 1, Umthun 4, , Viloria 1, Neyens 7 (4 assists), Heide 3, Pyburn 3 (1 assist).
Digs: Thurner 25, Pyburn 18, Dudley 11, Umthun 8, Viloria 8, Heide 3.
Assisted blocks: Pyburn 2, Baker 1, Heide 1.
Serve receive: Thurner 16 for 18, Umthun 3 for 4, Viloria 10 for 10, Neyens 2 for 3, Pyburn 16 for 18.
