On a special night for the Norwalk Community volleyball team and school district, Indianola played the spoiler role. In the process, the Indians forced a tie for first place in the Little Hawkeye Conference standings.
Following a wild and competitive first set won by Norwalk 27-25, Indianola took control the rest of the way Tuesday night and defeated the Warriors 3-1 by claiming the last three sets 25-14, 25-17, 25-20.
The Class 4A fifth-ranked Indians improved to 24-6 overall and forced a tie for first place with the ninth-ranked Warriors at 5-1 in the Little Hawkeye. Norwalk, now 16-7 overall, was playing the first-ever competition inside the school’s brand new gymnasium and was also looking to clinch the program’s first outright conference volleyball crown.
Indianola would have none of it, using a key 10-0 run to take over set two, erasing an early 7-4 deficit in set three and holding off a Norwalk rally in set four after leading 10-3.
Indianola head coach Kent Halstead credited his entire coaching staff for motivating the players throughout the match. And whenever the Indians needed a big kill, it seemed that sophomore Camryn Overton was up to the challenge.
“She just knows so much about the game,” Halstead said of Overton. “There’s nothing like experience when it comes to knowing the game, and she knows exactly what’s going on. She used to play right side, but now she plays left side. Everybody tried to make her a setter when she was younger – I think because she looks like a setter – but we’ll take her as one of our outside hitters.”
Norwalk showed a lot of grit in the opening set, responding to a 15-7 deficit by scoring 13 of the next 14 points. The score was tied at 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25, but the Warriors scored the last three points on kills by Ava McKay and Noelle Sutcliffe and an ace serve by Dakota Poen.
The momentum did not carry over into set two and Norwalk coach John Fulton stated that you’ve got to give credit to the opposing team when it’s due. Fulton also felt that his players did a great job during the match playing without junior middle hitter Ava Johnson, who was sidelined by an injury.
Sutcliffe led the Warriors with 17 kills and also had 13 digs. Grace Dehmer totaled 22 digs and served 15-for-15 with an ace. Liz Iverson set 34 assists and McKay had nine kills.
Fulton added that the Warriors practiced in the new Norwalk PE and Competition Center for the first time on Monday. He says that many people, including the custodian and administration, deserve credit for getting the gymnasium ready for prime time.
“We had a bunch of people here in the community and the school getting this gym ready for us, so we’ve got to definitely thank them,” Fulton said. “We’re proud to play in that new facility and we hope that we’ve got some wins to come there.”
Norwalk and Indianola both have just one conference match remaining. The Warriors will play at Pella Christian on Monday, October 10, and the Indians will host Pella on Tuesday, October 11.