It took two weeks for the first volleyball matches of the season to take the home court.
The long first month of the season practices and matches both - had filled the gymnasium air with the chatter of teammates drilling in their rotations and perfecting their motions, coaches barking over the thuds of several volleyballs against the floor and the speakers blasting whatever workout playlist fit the mood of the day.
Thursday brought the long-awaited sound of Bravette Nation, welcoming back a team on one of the program’s best starts Though the night ended with the team’s eight match winning streak snapped at the hands of a Mid State Conference foe, Tracy Kuester-Burtwistle said there was still plenty of energy in the Bravettes’ house.
“I think we’re just excited to play here in front of our home crowd,” she said.
That excitement remained, even as Norfolk Catholic came into the packed Battle Creek gym and ended the Thursday triangular with 27-25 and 25-20 set wins over the Braves.
Kuester-Burtwistle had no worries about the defeat, calling it a great match that offered a lot of value in the defeat.
“I think it was just early in the season,” she said. “These were things we needed to figure out. We’re looking at it as a positive thing, a learning experience.”
It was the first match of the year that truly threw the Braves out of balance.
“Kudos to them. They did a great job of getting us out of system a little bit,” said Kuester-Burtwistle. “We started with good momentum, and so we just need to continue to keep that momentum, continue to stay disciplined. We missed some serves that were at crucial times, and those are things that we can control later.”
Battle Creek still split its matches that night, coming away with a good win over a Summerland team fresh off an upset win in the Class D ranks.
Tuesday, September 8
Battle Creek 25 25 25 — 3 Ponca 14 20 20 — 0 Thursday, September 10
Summerland 14 17 — 0 Battle Creek 25 25 — 2 Norfolk Catholic 27 25 — 2 Battle Creek 25 20 — 0 Saturday, September 12
LV/SS 19 10 — 0 Battle Creek 25 25 — 2 Battle Creek 17 20 — 0 York 25 25 — 2 Battle Creek 9 17 — 0 Elkhorn 25 25 — 2
PHOTO BY ELISHA MEYER
