Battle Mountain volleyball comes back in third set to sweep Eagle Valley

Up 2-0 but trailing 19-14 in the third set, Izzy Zastrow couldn’t help but wonder if Eagle Valley was about to pull a reverse sweep on Battle Mountain — just like the Huskies did to the Devils on their floor three weeks ago.

“Definitely crossed my mind,” the senior captain said with a laugh. “But I know our team and I saw it happening a little bit and I was like, ‘hey, let’s not let that happen. We know what we’re capable of, we can stop it now.'”

Zastrow took matters into her own hands, rising with conviction for a spike to tie things up 23-23. A couple plays later, Gracie Halminski aced the visitors as Battle Mountain completed the game and season sweeps.

“I think we went in a little nervous (last time) and then finally gained confidence and knew we could win. Tonight, we knew right off the bat we could take them,” Halminski said.

Battle Mountain jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first, but the Devils made things interesting before dropping it 25-21. Zastrow’s height and combination of power and touch, coupled with the athleticism and clutch plays up front from high-rising senior Tyler Heimerl — whose kill to make it 22-18 in the opening set was the confidence-boost the Huskies needed — provided problems for the Devils.

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Eagle Valley was within four halfway through the second until Halminski’s spot-serving catalyzed a critical 8-0 run which made it 24-13. The senior said she knows her role is to make an impact in the front and back row.

“But serving is one of my strong suits,” she added.

Eagle Valley head coach Mike Garvey said serve-receive has been one of his team’s weaknesses.

“We’ve been trying not to give up aces and so we had a couple rallies in there but that’s what happened — we missed and we don’t even get a chance to swing,” he said. “But we’re improving in that area.”

Zakia Shreeve and Aspen Misch carried Eagle Valley through a back-and-forth third. Knotted up 9-9, Misch’s kill instigated a 3-0 run. The gym grew quieter and the Husky bench became tense as it grew to 19-14. Battle Mountain coach Scott Graves said the focus at practice this week has been on the mental component, particularly when things are headed in the wrong direction.

“If we start getting behind, finding adversity, what do we do with it?” he rhetorically asked. “If that would have gone four, it starts changing things.”

Battle Mountain clawed back behind heads up plays from Cynthia Orono, who always seemed to be the smartest, smoothest athlete in the building. Not “a true setter” in Graves book, Orono did set up Zastrow, Halminski and Heimerl during a 7-2 run that tied the game at 21 — but she also queued up deceptive drop shots to fool the Devils and hit a no-look one-hander over her head that gave Battle Mountain a 22-21 lead.

“She’s definitely a hustle player,” Graves said. “Those plays that should be hitting the ground, she’s getting them back up. She’s the one that’s getting us those extra opportunities.”

Shreeve took the air out of the gym on the next volley, rocketing a cross-court ball to the opposite corner that was so perfectly placed, even the line judge couldn’t help but smile in awarding Eagle Valley the tying point. A call against the Huskies on the following possession drained more momentum. And then Zastrow stepped up.

“That was kind of like heat of the moment,” she said of her clutch kill. “I really wanted it — we wanted it — and I knew we could do it, so that kind of lit me up a little bit. I just wanted to put it away.”

Shreeve stuffed Kylah Romer at the net on the next play, but the Devils sent the following shot out the back to make it 24-24. Then, Orono faked a set and dropped one inside for the lead before Halminski finished things from the service line to push the Huskies to 16-0.

“Especially with these kinds of games, there’s a lot of emotion involved. It’s a big win for us and I think it’s a reset for the program to feel like we’re on that high more than we have been in previous years,” said Zastrow, who has watched Battle Mountain go 1-6 against the Devils the last three years until taking both rivalry games this season. “So, it feels good.”

Still, 16-0 wasn’t something either Zastrow or Halminski saw coming in August.

“Absolutely not,” Halminski said.

“I knew we had a lot of talent, but it’s hard to tell,” Zastrow added. “Last year, we thought the same thing and it just didn’t click, but I think this year we really connected, and I think that’s a big part of it — working as a unit instead of individually.”

Not in a position to win league or host a playoff game, Garvey said his squad’s goals have been to improve every play.

“I reminded them, win or lose right here, it’s two weeks down the road that we’re preparing for,” the coach said after his team fell to 9-12 overall and 6-4 in the league. “I thought we did a lot of really good things tonight. I thought we made improvements; I think we did things tonight that will help for the future.”

When he woke up Thursday morning, Graves said he was a little nervous about what team might show up to play.

“Is it going to be the team that wants it?” he said. “That was the team tonight. And that’s what I’m hoping we can continue to do throughout the rest of the year.”