Pekin volleyball staggers at Williamsburg tournament

With the conference tournament just around the corner, the Pekin Panthers headed into Williamsburg on Saturday, Sept. 18 to prepare.

The Panthers didn't get off to a great start, facing 11th ranked Tipton in their first match. They lived up to their ranking, beating Pekin handily 25-8, 25-15.

"They passed extremely well and had multiple options offensively," said Panther coach Ken Hutchinson. "Once they got comfortable with their offense, we struggled to identify hitters."

The next match was against Bellevue, another ranked team. Pekin kept within reach of the opponent for most of the first set, but Bellevue took it 25-17. The second set Pekin struggled and Bellevue took advantage, resulting in a 25-10 win.

"I was a little disappointed in our focus against them," Hutchinson said. "They had two powerful outside hitters that we didn't block well."

The third match of the day was topsy-turvier for Pekin when they played Williamsburg. Similar to the first two matches, Pekin kept things close in the first set, but still fell 25-18. They rebounded and capitalized on crucial plays to take the second set 25-16. Williamsburg regained the momentum in the final set, and rode it to a 15-7 win.

"We took one set against Williamsburg, but our passing really hurt us," Hutchinson said.

With backs against the wall and the threat of falling 0-4 on the day, Pekin played their best match against Iowa Mennonite to end the day. Pekin played a complete match but still had to fight off a pesky Iowa Mennonite squad that wouldn’t go away. Pekin held on in extra time, winning both sets to a score of 26-24.

"We have struggled in long rallies earlier this year, but stayed focused and put pressure against IMS," Hutchinson said. "We did commit 12 hitting errors, but none in the final five points of each set."

The tandem of Maci and Haley Gambell finished the day with 34 kills. Haley added 17 assists, while Maci also had 27 digs and five aces on 27 successful serves. Ellie Ledger led her team with four blocks and had another 11 kills. Whitney Johnson was on the floor a lot, racking up 36 digs on the day.

"I think we learned about focusing on our blocking responsibilities first," Hutchinson said. "Hopefully we carry that lesson forward against other teams this season."

Pekin will continue to play against top competition when they compete in their conference tournament in Burlington on Thursday, Sept. 21.