Comets drop 5-set volleyball match to Decorah

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — There is no clock in volleyball

Thus, matches can be short and sweet (or not so sweet), or long and extended.

While hosting Northeast Iowa Conference foe Decorah on Tuesday during the team’s “Senior Night”, the Charles City Comets had a long night while dropping a five-set, two-hour-plus match with the Vikings’ winning scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 18-25 and 15-11.

The Comets had beaten the Vikings in abbreviated straight sets when they hosted a tournament to start the season.

The Comets had a hard time getting a rhythm going but seemed to have righted the ship with the 25-18 fourth-set victory forcing the deciding fifth.

The fifth set was back-and-forth with both teams exchanging side-outs before the Vikings gained some distance with a 9-7 lead.

A double blocking kill by Aubrey Hoeft and Sadie Gebel tied the set at 9-9 for the Comets while igniting the home crowd.

But the Vikings responded by scoring 6 of the last 8 points in the set to seal the match and improve to 5-2 for the season.

Kaylee Anderson had a team-leading 8 kills and 4 blocks for the Comets (6-5), who were also led by Carly Stevenson (22 digs, 2 aces), Ashlyn Hoeft (18 assists) and Sarah Mitchell (17 of 17 serving).

Emma Johnson had 29 digs, and Emma Nierengarten had 14 kills and 9 blocks for the Vikings.

Charles City will be back in action on Saturday for a tournament at Dike-New Hartford.