By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – At times, Bedford North Lawrence purred like a high-performance engine, revved to the red line and ready to roar. At times, the Stars sputtered like an old tractor, gasping for the correct mixture of fuel and oxygen.
The trick was finding the switch. What makes them go? They toggled back and forth, finally finding the connection for a three-set sweep of Scottsburg. BNL (4-5) ended a four-game losing streak with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-20 triumph over the Warriorettes on Tuesday night.
Perfect? No. Perfunctory? Yes. The Stars got back on track.
The moments of smoothness obviously outnumbered the sections of struggles. Sometimes it’s just something as simple as hitting the ball over the net. Service errors, momentum killers and free points for the opposition, were the on-off button. When the serve found its intended target zone, success followed. Lily Mishler recorded five aces and Adalynn Bailey added three. When the service mistakes (nine total) crept into play, the flow stopped. It’s comparable to a basketball free throw. No defense, just the most basic play in the sport. Knock it over.
“When you’re at the back line, you need to focus and dial in,” BNL’s Izzy Root said. “It’s enough time (five seconds after the official’s whistle to restart play) to focus. We need to focus a lot more.”
That was evident in the first set. BNL had three mishits in quick succession as Scottsburg (2-11) battled to an 11-11 deadlock. With Mishler on the line, the Stars ripped off nine straight points and cruised to the end of the set. They jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second with Bailey in charge of starting the action.
In the third, comfortably in front, BNL faltered as the Warriors cut the lead to 20-18. But a Scottsburg point was overturned into a replay, and the Stars took advantage, securing match point with a final Bailey ace.
“It’s when we get started fast, we have good energy, and getting big kills always helps,” Root said. “The energy was not there, there was no go point. We got in the wrong mindset.”
BNL did generate energy and offense in spurts. Root totaled 10 kills, Mishler added nine, and Emry Crane finsihed with six. Bailey handed out 17 assists, and Ellie Nubbie had 16 digs. Consistency will be a key when facing challenging competition. Creating that energy, on back-to-back nights after facing a top-tier opponent the previous outing, can be difficult.
“They have to create it, come in energized,” BNL coach Aaron Wagoner said. “They are some games they are ready to take on the world. We’re working on it. I hope we find what that spark is.
”We’re working on an offense that we just started, which will give us better options, but it does have some challenges.”
BNL will return to action on Thursday, visiting Floyd Central.
