The Atlantic Trojan volleyball team dominated the Exira-EHK Spartans by a score of 3-0. In a night where both teams were playing their final games of the regular season, it was an intriguing and important non-conference matchup. Although the Spartans were the first to put up points in each of the first two sets, the trojans would go on to grab control winning the sets 25-15, 25-21, and 25-7. Throughout the night Atlantic played a clean game and limited mistakes and miscommunications from start to finish.

In set one, Exira-EHK got a quick 3-0 lead. The teams would go to trade points before the Trojans went on a run and eventually grabbed their first lead at 7-6. Atlantic’s defense was superb throughout the night led by  Taylee Hagen and Morgan Botus the Trojans were all over the court keeping plays alive. They would only allow 7 more points in the first set.  Head Coach Alyssa Boltz says the defense was a big reason they were able to make plays.

Set two started much like set one. The Spartans got out an early lead, but Atlantic would go on a run, putting Exira-EHK on the defensive. This set would be the closest of the two as Exira-EHK was able to tie the game at 16 with some back-and-forth play. But once again Atlantic went on a run, and the Spartans could not keep pace. One of the main reasons was the consistency of the Trojans from the service line. Many of Atlantic’s servers, including Lila Wiederstien and Peyton McLaren, were able to keep service errors at a minimum and go on extended runs. Boltz stated that their aggressiveness and consistency helped lift the Trojans to victory.

Unlike the first two sets, Atlantic jumped out to an early lead and never looked backed. After starting with a 5-0 run, the Trojans would only surrender seven points and roll to a 25-7 victory in set 3.  For much of the night, it was clear that Atlantic was more in sync, communicated better, and ultimately were the better team on Monday night. Boltz echoed that focusing on cleaning up self-inflicted wounds was a focal point for Trojans leading up to the game.

Atlantic will play their last game of the regular season at St. Alberts on Thursday before heading to Clarinda for their 3A region 7 quarter-final against Clarinda next week.