DECATUR -- Coach Jessi Castagna had plenty of reasons to celebrate Sept. 29 as her Decatur senior girls' volleyball team posted its first conference victory since winning the 3A opener against Eureka Springs Aug. 25 in Decatur.
The Lincoln Wolves traveled to Decatur High School's Peterson Gym to take on the Bulldogs in a 1A/4A conference match. Earlier in the season, the Wolves overwhelmed the Bulldogs in a three-set sweep in Lincoln Sept. 6.
In an effort to get her team on a winning track, Castagna made a few modifications to her lineup, including switching Desi Meek and Cameron Shaffer. This move proved to be a game changer for the Decatur girls and marked the beginning of a winning streak.
"Desi has been setting for us all season," Castagna said. "I decided to put Cameron as setter and moved Desi to the outside hitter's position, and I think that helped a lot. It helped Desi calm down a lot and gave Cameron a steady and calming presence on the court."
From the first serve, the Wolves' game proved to be one of the most evenly matched competitions the Bulldogs faced all season. Lincoln jumped ahead of Decatur in the first set by as much as nine points. But the Bulldogs turned the tide and fought back to tie at 23 all. Two straight Lincoln points gave them the win, 25 to 23.
Decatur let down its guard a little in the second set, allowing Lincoln to overrun the girls and take the set, 25 to 16. By this time it looked like the Bulldogs were falling into the same routine as in previous matches. But the changes to the Bulldog lineup took hold in the third set, which was the start of one of the most exciting volleyball sets Decatur played all season.
Castagna's well orchestrated plan caught Lincoln off guard and their game plan began to unravel as the Bulldogs took the third and fourth sets, 25 to 23 and 25 to 22, setting up a tie breaker since both teams had won two sets each.
In the final set, the Bulldogs' strategy worked as Meek, Shaffer and Talor Thompson blasted balls past a rattled Lincoln team to take the 16-14 win and Decatur's second conference match of the season.
"I knew that we had it in us to play at our absolute best," Castagna said. "They pulled it out and it was amazing."
All of the athletes who choose to participate in the Decatur junior and senior high school volleyball team work very hard to bring exciting matches to Peterson Gym. It is important to fill the stands to show support at every game for their effort. A complete schedule of the remaining Decatur Bulldog volleyball matches is available online at decatursd.com/athletics.
In other Decatur-Lincoln volleyball action, Decatur junior high B team defeated Lincoln in two straight sets, 25 to 14 and 25 to 22. Decatur junior high A lost to Lincoln, 25 to 10 and 25 to 11.
Sports on 10/05/2016