Fort Madison sweeps Keokuk at Hound Dome

FORT MADISON - There was still plenty of fuel left for the Fort Madison volleyball team to get its first Southeast Conference win of the season.
The Bloodhounds swept Keokuk 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 on Tuesday night, less than 24 hours after playing four matches and finishing fourth in the HTC Classic.
“It’s nice to come off four games last night, and still have it in us to come out and get a win,” Fort Madison coach Kelly Knustrom said. “It was good to see that.”
The Bloodhounds (9-10 overall, 1-3 Southeast Conference) defeated Keokuk in pool play in Monday’s tournament, so they were familiar with the Chiefs.
That familiarity may have played a role in the big runs Fort Madison had in all three sets.
The Bloodhounds closed the first set with nine consecutive points, outscored Keokuk 8-1 late in the second set to take a 22-16 lead, and had two runs of five consecutive points in the third set.
Knustrom said those runs were set up by learning from last week’s loss at Mount Pleasant, when the Bloodhounds surrendered seven consecutive points to end the third set of a 3-1 defeat to the Panthers.

“We talked about when it was 18-18, and what it felt like in that moment,” she said. “And so we tried to shift the mindset from ‘I don’t want to make the last mistake,’ to ‘I want the last serve, kill, whatever. So I think practicing that helped. We get down, we don’t care. We keep playing.”
The Bloodhounds got a dominant match from Dayonna Davis. Davis had 18 kills and 14 digs, and was 11 of 11 serving with four aces. She had back-to-back kills to put the Bloodhounds up 24-19 in the second set, and had two aces during their run to end the first set.
“She's playing great all the way around,” Knustrom said. “Her defense is solid. She's hitting the ball well. She's so smart and she knows the game, so she's always looking for, ‘What's open, what's open, what's open.’ And finally, I told her, when you hit the ball hard, that's OK. So I think just her having that confidence and knowing that you know her team is behind her, and when she swings hard, we're all right there, ready to support her and do whatever we need.”
The Bloodhounds also got strong play from Sydney McEntee and Jaycee Fullenkamp up front. Both had six kills, with Fullenkamp adding 13 digs.
“I thought Jaycee swung well tonight, tried to hit open spots, and she continues to grow also,” Knustrom said. “Some of the balls went out, and she got a little frustrated, but they're out by inches, not miles, so just trust it, and do the right thing. I thought Sydney kind of came alive and took some good, hard swings. I know she's been wanting that.”
Fort Madison also was solid in the back row — Kylie Lumino had 10 digs, and Mackenzie Huebner had nine.
“It was just a good win for us,” Knustrom said.