Home / Sports

WEST LIBERTY, Iowa – Sometimes, it is better to be a “geek.”

Two enthusiastic student body crowds watched West Liberty give seventh-ranked Durant-Bennett a tough match in Cedar Valley Conference volleyball play Thursday night, but it was the Wildcats who prevailed 25-23, 25-23, 25-20 in the West Liberty gymnasium.

Durant’s students were dressed up in nerd outfits, while the West Liberty faithful were decked in much cooler garb, including shades, basketball jerseys and do-rags. The two sides traded barbs throughout in a seesaw match much of the way.

“It’s always tough playing in this gym,” Durant coach John Walsh said, “and West Liberty is a quick and scrappy team. The crowd was loud and makes for a tough match.”

Durant, however, always had an answer for West Liberty on the court.

The Comets were playing without head coach Ruben Galvan, who was in Colorado for a family funeral, and was coached by Trisha Hall. Galvan’s daughter, Julissa, however, stayed at home to attend classes and play against Durant. Hall said Julissa remained focused throughout.

“I think she was (sad), but she is such a good team leader,” Hall said. “She’s always working and looking for the next ball.”

The Comets had occasional leads in the first two games, but at the most crucial time in game one, leading 22-19, they lost focus against a tenacious Durant team.

West Liberty was called for four hits, and Hannah Vance’s attack attempt went long. Durant’s Shelby Paustian had three straight kills and Mackenzie Compton served up an ace to close it out.

Again, in the second game, West Liberty had a 23-22 lead when Paustian’s kill attempt went long, but Renee Telsrow put down a kill and a hitting error on Shannon Kelly gave the Wildcats a 2-0 game lead.

Once more, West Liberty had chances in the third game, having as much as a 6-3 lead, but Durant kept coming back and turned it around behind the serving of Emily Andry, in which the Wildcats went on a four-point run that made it 18-11. West Liberty’s last gasp came off kills by Marissa Kelly and Kennedi Simon, but Paustian’s kill off the Comets’ block ended it.

“I told the girls that they can’t be disappointed,” Hall said. “They were more consistent. They tried new things and went with it. A couple of times, we let our guard down and we couldn’t get the momentum back.”

Durant put up a good wall against the Comets, scoring off of eight blocks against them.

“We put up some good touches,” Walsh said. “We work on that. We were aggressive at the net and owning the net. We’ve done a good job of doing that the last couple of weeks.”

Telsrow finished with 12 kills and three blocks. Paustian added six kills, all at key points in the match.

“It was quite a battle of fans,” Hall said. “I know the girls and the crowd likes to have (the noise) behind them, but it is hard on the coaches.”

Durant 25-25-25

West Liberty 23-23-20

Statistics

Kills – Durant (Renee Telsrow 12, Makenzie Meyer 7, Shelby Paustian 6, Stevie Lorenz 3, Mackenzie Compton 1, Annie Miller 1); West Liberty (Haley Smith 8, Hannah Vance 7, Marissa Kelly 7, Kennedi Simon 4, Shannon Kelly 2, Kristi Feldman 1); Blocks – Durant (Lorenz 4, Telsrow 3, Paustian 1); West Liberty (S. Kelly 2, Simon 2, Feldman 1). Serving – Durant (Compton 18-19, 1 ace; Meyer 12-13, 1 ace; Allison Ralfs 10-12, 2 aces); West Liberty (M. Kelly 10-10, 1 ace; Feldman 10-11, 3 aces; Simon 7-7, 1 ace; Julissa Galvan 12-12, 1 ace); Digs – Durant (Miller 7, Paustian 23, Emily Andry 14, Ralfs 9, Telsrow 11); West Liberty (Galvan 8); Assists – Durant (Ralfs 28); West Liberty (S. Kelly 26).

Record – Durant 20-2 overall, 5-0 CVC; West Liberty 3-2 CVC.