Having had their troubles with finishing off games and matches in the past, the Edgerton Flying Dutchmen found themselves in a familiar situation Tuesday night.
After winning the first two games, 25-23, 25-19, against the visiting Adrian Dragons, Edgerton fell behind by as many as six points in Game 3 and appeared on the verge of another collapse.
But the Flying Dutchmen (2-4), not wanting to repeat their efforts in a 3-2 loss to Fulda Sept. 10, bucked up and completed the sweep, 26-24, for a Red Rock Conference volleyball victory.
“We have a lot of trouble finishing off matches like this one,” Edgerton head coach Randy Butson said following the contest. “This is a big win for us and something we can definitely build off of. The girls hung in there, kept their composure and got the job done. I’m very pleased and happy for the girls.”
It appeared the tilt would be brief after Adrian jumped out to an 11-2 lead in Game 1, but following a timeout called by Butson, the Flying Dutchmen slowly scratched their way back into the game. A pair of ace serves by Rachel Steffl (three blocks) sparked the Edgerton offense, and Kelsey Wolthuizen (five kills) brought the home fans to life with a pair of sharp shots off the Adrian block - pulling the Flying Dutchmen to within five points (13-8).
The Dragons managed to muscle a couple of points over the net, but Edgerton senior hitter Alyson Drooger (eight kills) lifted her game a few notches and hammered two kills down the heart of the Adrian defense to make it a 3-point game at 16-13. A few Dragon mistakes later, the Flying Dutchmen were right back in it (19-18).
The lead changed hands several times before Edgerton could earn a game-point on a kill from Emily Sluis (three kills). Needing just one point to claim the first game, Steffl slipped a tricky dink over the Adrian block to claim the game.
“That Fulda loss was very disappointing for us, so we knew we had to come out and do something good this time,” Drooger said. “We were really pumped up for it tonight.”
Game 2 was almost a mirror image of the first, as Edgerton enjoyed an early lead behind the serving of senior setter Macy Butson (three ace serves, 22 set assists). Drooger also got into the act at the net, and the Flying Dutchmen forged a 9-4 lead. But that advantage soon evaporated, as Edgerton lost focus in receiving serve.
“We received serve very well at times, but struggled at other times throughout the match,” Coach Butson said. “It’s something we’re constantly working on, and we’re going to have to be more consistent with it if we want to pull out matches like this.”
Knotted at 9-all, Wolthuizen was again the featured hitter on the Edgerton front row, and the senior middle hitter responded with two shots off the block and a push to the right corner of the court - giving the Flying Dutchmen a 12-9 advantage. The Dragons roared back with kills from Sydne Springman and Courtney Vaske and claimed a 17-14 lead on an errant pass by the Edgerton defense.
But Drooger, receiving several precision sets from Butson, was involved in four consecutive points to give Edgerton a 22-18 lead - prompting Adrian head coach Katie Prunty to ask for a timeout.
Out of the break, the Dragons scored just once more, and Wolthuizen finished off Game 2 with a thundering kill down the middle.
Looking to complete the sweep, Edgerton bounced out to an early 3-1 lead in Game 3. Adrian, however, showed its grit by ripping off a 10-5 run to claim an 11-8 advantage. From that point, neither team could gain more than a 2-point advantage until the later stages of the game.
Tied at 17-all, the Dragons scored seven points to Edgerton’s one and had a game-point (24-18), following a pair of ace serves by Karli Meyer.
Coach Butson rallied his Flying Dutchmen during a timeout, and the Dragons simply froze. Several Adrian attempts hit the net in the face of the Edgerton blockers, and the Flying Dutchmen were knocking on the door, 24-23, as Prunty called for timeout.
Wolthuizen immediately tied the game with a strike down the middle, prompting Prunty to ask for another respite. But Marriah Wieneke’s effort went long and wide of the baseline, giving Edgerton a game-point at 25-24. The Adrian defense didn’t receive Ashley Bostic’s serve well, and the Flying Dutchmen completed the sweep.
“We just went hard at it and kept each other going and positive, and that made a huge difference tonight,” Macy Butson said. “We definitely were told about it (the Fulda loss) in practice, and we didn’t want that to happen again. I think coming from behind by so much in each game showed us that we have the ability to make it happen. This will be a good match for us to build on.”
Steffl finished the night with four kills, and Bostic added three for Edgerton. Drooger was a defensive standout with 12 digs, and Allie Brockhouse was on top of her game - digging 10 shots.
Wolthuizen had three blocks to lead the Flying Dutchmen, while Steffl added a pair. Sluis was the leading server for Edgerton, going 16-of-17 with two aces.
Edgerton will visit Red Rock Central on Thursday.

Adrian 23 19 24
Edgerton 25 25 26

Southwest Christian 3, Red Rock Central 0
The Eagles improved to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the Red Rock Conference with a sweep of the Falcons Tuesday night, 25-13, 25-18, 25-17.
Jada Vander Veen and Kara Van Dyke led the Eagle offense with seven kills apiece, while Kayla Broekhuis posted 18 set assists.
Marissa DeBoer led the defense with nine digs, and Van Dyke had six ace serves for SWC.
The Eagles will host the Adrian Dragons Thursday evening.