Lady Hounds put scare into Panthers

MOUNT PLEASANT — Fort Madison High School’s volleyball team was on the brink of elimination.
Down two sets to Mount Pleasant in Tuesday’s Class 4A Region 4 quarterfinal, the Bloodhounds huddled with coach Kelly Knustrom, and when they broke the gathering to head back out on the court, everyone was laughing.
That, Knustrom said, was all part of the plan. 
It almost worked.
The Bloodhounds rallied to win the third set, then pushed Mount Pleasant to the limit in the fourth set before finally falling to the Panthers 25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 26-24.
Mount Pleasant (12-25) advanced to play No. 4 Clear Creek-Amana in Thursday’s semifinal, but only after the Bloodhounds (7-26) followed their coach’s advice.
“We just talked about playing free, having fun, enjoying the moment,” Knustrom said. “Less stress, less pressure.”
Knustrom thought her team had played tight in the first two sets.
“When we play tight, we don't play well,” Knustrom said. “So we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Game one and two we tried, I think, tried to be a little too perfect with some of the things that we wanted to do, and when it didn't work out, struggled on how to handle that mentally a little bit.
“So, yeah, I just told him that we didn't really have any pressure. We're the underdogs in this game. We were the ones that weren't supposed to win.”
The Bloodhounds then gave themselves a chance to win.
They built a 13-6 lead in the third set before the Panthers started to rally.
The pivotal point when Mount Pleasant appeared to tie the set at 14. But after a conference between the two officials, the point was awarded to Fort Madison. That started a 6-0 run for the Bloodhounds, who finished off the set with kills from Jayce Fullenkamp and Sydney McEntee.

The momentum continued into the fourth set, as Fort Madison built an early 11-3 lead. The Bloodhounds were up 13-8 before the Panthers scored nine of the next 10 points, setting up a back-and-forth finish.
Fort Madison trailed 22-20 before taking the lead on a Dayonna Davis kill and two hitting errors by the Panthers. A service error by the Bloodhounds tied the match, then the Panthers reached match point on a kill from Alex Scott. Fort Madison again tied the match, but a service error gave Mount Pleasant another match point, and Zoey Atkinson’s ace finished the victory.
The Bloodhounds lose three seniors, but bring back a core group of juniors that Knustrom thinks can take a big step.
“The win-loss column isn't where we want it to be, but this team has set a standard for things that teams to come will have to live up to, and I think that's the biggest one that sticks out to me,” Knustrom said.
Knustrom was proud of what her team had done during the season, possessing the ability to pick up things right away. It’s progress, she said, which is why she wanted this group to enjoy their last time on the court.
“Next year, even with as many kids as we'll have back, as many positions as we'll look the same, it'll be different,” Knustrom said. “So that's kind of like I said, and it’s been the message all year. Just reminding them that we're here, just we're just playing, we're having fun, we're enjoying each other. We want to look each other in the eye at the end of the day and say, ‘I enjoyed my time with you.’”
FORT MADISON STATISTICS
Dayonna Davis — 16 kills, 17 digs, 2 aces, and 1 solo block
Sydney McEntee — 10 kills, 3 blocks
Jayce Fullenkamp — 6 kills, 
Mackenzie Huebner — 21 digs
Kylie Lumino — 24 digs, 1 ace
Alivia Holmes — 15 digs, 1 ace