Bombers clean up in second set, roll to 16th straight victory by beating Chargers

CARTHAGE, Ill. — Even though the Macomb volleyball team won the first set of its Prairieland Conference match Tuesday against Illini West, Bombers coach Briana Rexroat knew they could play a cleaner second set.

The Bombers committed 11 combined service and hitting errors in the first set, and Rexroat gave her team a benchmark to shoot for in an effort to clean up those errors in the second set.

“Our goal was to make less than 10 errors between hitting and serving,” Rexroat said.

The Bombers completed that mission with plenty of room to spare. They only made two service errors and one hitting error and never trailed in the second set en route to a 25-20, 25-12 victory.

“That’s the difference in that score right there,” Rexroat said.

The Bombers won nine of the final 13 points in the first set after it was tied at 16. Macomb senior outside hitter Kathryn Lukkarinen said during that stretch and throughout the second set, the Bombers made some adjustments that made life difficult for the Chargers.

“After our first full six rotations, we got going,” Lukkarinen said. “We read what they were doing and anticipated what they were going to do. Our block wasn’t doing very well in the first set. We noticed they were hitting it cross court more, so we adjusted our block to that. We also realized they weren’t doing well with the roll shot, so we started using that roll shot to get in there and get some kills.”

Rexroat said very few teams possess the ability to make adjustments that quickly.

“That’s what is unique about this team. Once they get through one full six rotations, they can make adjustments much better,” Rexroat said. “It takes some teams a whole set to make those adjustments. They’re very strong in that aspect right now.”

Despite leading for the final 32 points of the second set, the Bombers had to contend with some adversity in the process. With Macomb leading the set 12-5, Bombers setter Quinn Rexroat got called for a net violation, but Lukkarinen and Briana Rexroat thought Chargers setter Reagan Reed should have been called for a back row attack on her tip that preceded the net violation. Lukkarinen and Briana Rexroat disputed the no-call, but to no avail. 

Lukkarinen delivered what she felt was some justice on the next point. Her vicious swing off Anna Jacob’s block landed out of bounds on Macomb’s side of the net, setting in motion a 5-0 Bombers run to take a 17-6 lead.

“I got a little anger out on that one,” Lukkarinen said. “Ball didn’t lie, that’s what I said right after that kill.”

The Bombers never looked back. The Chargers never got closer than eight points the rest of the set, and the final of senior outside hitter Jacque Adair’s eight kills ended the match.

“I was ready to hit,” Adair said of her match-clinching swing. “It was an off ball, so I just swung at it with a nice, high swing.”

Macomb senior libero Kylie Robinson, who led the Bombers with 10 digs, said all aspects of the Bombers’ game were clicking in the second set.

“Our passes were solid and so was our coverage, which allowed the setter to get a good set to our hitters so the hitters could smack it down,” Robinson said. “And our block was really good.”

Illini West coach Sawyer Johnson was pleased with how the Chargers began the first set, one that the Chargers led 8-4 before a 4-0 Bombers run that led to one of the 12 different times the set was tied.

“There were a lot of things we talked about going into this game, like getting a strong block on both sides, finding the open spot on the right side, and I think we executed that fairly well in the first part of that set,” Johnson said.

Once the Bombers took control late in the set, Johnson said the Chargers couldn’t find that same tenacity they had early in the first set.

“We kind of let our heads hang there for a little bit,” Johnson said. “I think it just got to us and we weren’t able to come out as strong in that second set.”

It can also be discouraging when a ball just doesn’t seem to land, which Johnson said was the case for much of the latter part of the match.

“I don’t think we’ve necessarily seen a team that tough for a while, and I think where some of the hits we had would have been kills against some of the teams we’ve seen, they were just able to pick those up so well,” Johnson said. “They were digging almost everything up.”

The Chargers (12-3, 1-1 Prairieland) will travel to The Pit Thursday to take on Quincy Notre Dame, while the Bombers (16-0, 5-0) hit the road again Wednesday for a date with Lewistown. Beginning Oct. 2, five of the Bombers’ final seven opponents have a record of .500 or better, and four of those teams — Southeastern, QND, Camp Point Central, and Unity — are a combined 55-9. That equates to an .859 winning percentage.

“We’re going to be pushed pretty hard,” Briana Rexroat said. “We’re just going to enjoy the ride while we can and if that loss comes, we’ll figure out how to learn from it.”