Panthers showcase their resolve by regaining momentum in third set to beat Chargers

CARTHAGE, Ill. — Volleyball is often a game of momentum, but in Claire Huston’s eyes, the pivotal moment in Tuesday’s match between Camp Point Central and Illini West didn’t happen in the flow of play.

After the Panthers cruised to a 25-18 first set victory, the Chargers punched back with a commanding 25-12 effort in the second to force a deciding third set.

Then came that pivotal moment.

“The real turning point was between the second and third set because that was when we had to turn the momentum around,” said Huston, the Panthers’ senior libero. “We talked about even if we make a mistake, we have to keep our heads up and not let it turn into other mistakes. As soon as we went out there on the court, we knew we were going to have to score points and keep adding on.”

The Panthers did all of those things in the third set en route to a 25-14 drubbing, which secured their second road win in as many days.

“And against very strong opponents, too,” said Central coach Sarah Bauer-Herron, whose squad opened the season Monday by beating Brown County in straight sets. “Brown County is a sound team. They were showing different things than they did last year. Illini West is always a strong, competitive team. This was really important for us to get the wins, but going from that second to third set, I think that was really important to pull themselves up.”

The Panthers showed that resolve after the second set turned into a struggle.

“We were doing some very uncharacteristic things — not talking, running into each other, trying to overplay the ball to make up for it,” Bauer-Herron said. “Lauren (Miller) had some calls as a setter with those lifts, and we had some errors we just typically don’t make.”

Miller, a senior outside hitter and setter, could sense the tide turning in Illini West’s favor during the second set.

“It felt like once it started to unravel, we really just couldn’t stop the bleeding,” Miller said. “That definitely hurt us. We were stuck in the rotation for a while. Our confidence was down, but that’s bound to happen. It’s the second game of the year. We just have to learn to come back from it.”

The Panthers got back up from the Chargers’ counterpunch by scoring five of the first six points in the third set. After the Chargers scored three straight points to cut the third set deficit to 10-7, the Panthers rattled off five consecutive points and seven of the next eight to take a 17-8 lead.

“You could tell in the third set we had them down,” Bauer-Herron said. “The change in that set was not giving (Illini West) so many points and making them earn them. It was a mindset change. We just needed to be stronger mentally.”

Miller, who led the Panthers with 12 kills and three aces, said the Panthers mixing up their serves threw a wrinkle into what Illini West tried to do offensively.

“I thought we threw them off a little bit,” Miller said. “If we can get them disrupted on the offensive end, that helps us because they’re such a powerful hitting team. If we get them disrupted, then we can turn our defense into offense.”

When the Panthers turn that defense into offense, they can dictate the pace of play, and Miller said it all starts with that first pass.

“Once we get our passes up to our setters, then she can have all options open, which really puts the defense on its heels, like how Illini West does to us when they run it fast,” Miller said. “Just trying to get a perfect pass, communicate, so everything can be executed smoothly.”

Sawyer Johnson, who coached her first game at Illini West on Tuesday, said after a small handful of errors, the Chargers got away from what was working in the second set.

“In that second set, we made it clear that our tips weren’t working and we needed to swing,” Johnson said. “The girls were doing it and it was working, then we had some hits that went out, and they started second guessing themselves. In that third set, we weren’t swinging as much, and it hurt us. We have some strong hitters, so we just need to take advantage of that.”

The Panthers (2-0) turn their attention to another road match Thursday against Rushville-Industry, while the Chargers (0-1) welcome Brown County to Carthage. Both teams will take part in the Lady Suns Classic, which begins Sept. 3 at Southeastern High School.