The Dexter volleyball team has been taking its busy season one point at a time and one game at a time. But the Dreadnaughts have already been looking ahead to the first week of November – they have a certain day circled and a certain opponent underlined.
The Dreadnaughts will host Division 1 District 17 with some strong opponents, including Skyline, clearly one of the best teams in the state. The Dreads will face Saline in the opening match and the Hornets are a very good as well. But Dexter is looking at Saline as a challenge, not a foregone conclusion as the end of their season. If the Hornets are going to advance, they are going to have to earn it as the Dreadnaughts continue to work hard, play smarter, bond and improve.
“We have some tough opponents coming up, not only in conference, but in our District opener against Saline,” says head coach Liz Palmer. “We are already trying to prepare ourselves mentally for that and get ready for Saline so to see us come back like that in the third set was exciting.”
Palmer is talking about Dexter’s sweep of Lincoln on Thursday night. And while it looks like the Dreads had an easy time against the Railsplitters, the home team made them earn that third win. And it was the type of victory they can take with them down the road.
“Battling back is something we have been striving to work on all season so it was exciting to see,” said Palmer. “It’s a really energizing thing for us.”
It’s proof that the Dreadnaughts (25-5) have the ability to step up and take their game – during a game – to a whole different level. They trailed by as many as nine points in that third set and came all the way back to win. It’s a confidence builder so if it happens again – like to Saline – the Dreads can look back at Oct. 3 as an example of their resolve.
“Yeah, been there done that,” said Palmer. “This was a good match because we were able to get everyone in, including in that third set. So to get everyone involved and then to battle back from as many as nine points down is really something the whole team can be proud of.”
Palmer did pass on some credit to the Railsplitters, who played much better in that third set after getting beat 25-14, 25-13 in the first two games.
“I thought we did a good job of controlling the serving and passing game in the first two games,” said Palmer. “They came out in that third set and started playing a lot better and we didn’t do a good job answering them until the end. They are a really strong team offensively so when their serves are on and their passing is on it makes our job a lot harder.”
It made it harder, but not impossible. Sort of like the upcoming match with Saline.
