Ehrhardt powers Jacobs past Dundee-Crown
Dundee-Crown plays quality volleyball in bursts but the Chargers lack a dependable hitter ala Jacobs’ Alyssa Ehrhardt, whose consistent scoring powered the Golden Eagles to a 25-12, 25-22 victory in Algonquin Tuesday.
Ehrhardt notched her points against D-C in a variety of ways: soft tips to the middle of the floor, smashes down the sidelines and cross-court power spikes to the opposite corner. Her 12 kills in 14 attempts and 2 aces accounted for more than 25 percent of Jacobs’ points in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division victory.
The talented junior spread the credit for her successful outing between libero Becca Jobst (7 digs) and defensive specialist Cassie Kasper (4 digs) and setter Taylor Lauder (22 assists).
“Becca and Cassie were doing a really good job in the back row and Taylor was putting the sets where they needed to be,” Ehrhardt said. “Everything was just flowing. It made me look really good, but I have to give the credit to the team. Without them, all those kills wouldn’t be there. All of us clicking made the game go so well.”
Ehrhardt had other helpers. Junior Maris Smith contributed 5 kills, 6 digs and an ace, and senior middle Nikki Maddoch added 3 kills.
Jacobs (13-6, 4-2) dominated Dundee-Crown (4-9, 0-6) in Game 1. The Golden Eagles scored 4 straight points to move to an 11-4 lead, a surge capped by a kill from Smith and an ace by Jobst.
Jacobs scored the last 5 points of the opening game, a spree ignited by a tip kill and an ace by Ehrhardt. Sophomore Brighton Troha scored the game winner on a tip for a point.
Game 2 was far more competitive. Jacobs led 7-3, but the Chargers rallied to take a 10-9 lead on Lindsey Peterson’s let serve, which dropped before the Jacobs defense could react.
“The first game I feel like we were low on communication and energy,” said D-C outside hitter Rebekah Hischke. “The second game I think we really picked it up. We got around and moved and covered much faster.”
The Chargers pulled within 20-19 on a block for a point, but Troha’s subsequent kill gave Jacobs breathing room. Jobst’s second ace made it 23-19 and middle hitter Nikki Maddoch put the match away by slamming a ball home on an outside run.
“They kept up really well in Game 2,” Jacobs coach Lisa Dwyer said of the Chargers. “We got sloppy and made some errors that were unforced. To D-C’s credit, they picked things up and played very smart.”
Smart only goes so far, however.
“We are so inconsistent it’s not even funny,” D-C coach Tracy Williams said. “That’s been our story. We’ll play really well for five or six points, then all of a sudden we’ll play really poorly for five or six points. It’s the consistency factor and having someone who can put the ball down. We hit back and forth all the time because we just do not have that person who can consistently put the ball down.”