A decisive third set was dominated by Malden, on Tuesday night against New Madrid County Central. After the Eagles won a tight first set, 25-23, the Green Wave proceeded to win the next two sets, 25-22, 25-15. It was a matter of focusing for NMCC (1-3) and is an area that head coach Taylor Dace stressed after the match. “We got comfortable,” Dace said. “We were confident that we were going to win, and this is not a team to sit back and relax with. That’s too good of a team, and so, we need to practice when we’re ahead or when we have the momentum to keep that momentum. “We got to put more pressure situations in there and not get comfortable after we win a game. We need to continue to push even harder after we win.” Inexperience also played a role in the latter stages of the match. However, Dace wasn’t using that as an excuse and emphasized that her team needs to have a tougher mindset. “We lack mental toughness,” I mean we have a lot of inexperienced players, due to injuries, out there and when times get tough, we haven’t been able to get through those yet. So, we’re working on that.” Losing a key starting senior doesn’t help matters either. Abi Sindle got sidelined due to an injury, leaving the Eagles with a void at setter. However, Dace said that she’s not looking at the injury as a negative; but more so a way to build confidence for a younger player. “We have Joycelynne, who’s a sophomore that’s filling that void right now,” Dace said. “It’s good for her to get experience. So, every day is going to be a challenge for her. She’s been thrown in; this is a good learning experience for Abi because she can watch the game from a different perspective and it’s a good situation for Joycelynne to get her the reps that she will need because she’ll be my setter next year.” Trailing 6-4 to start the third, head coach Brittany Crane called a timeout and after the break, her team responded well. The Green Wave outscored the Eagles 21-9 to win the match. “I feel like the first and the second set, we stopped our momentum a lot of times on our own,” Crane said. “It was three good things, one bad, and the one bad just defeated us, just deflated us. I feel like the third set; we quit doing that. We quit making excuses and went with the momentum of the good stuff. The third set, we just got a couple of blocks, got a couple of hits and that just lit a fire under us to finish out the set.” Onerica Reed was the primary weapon on offense for the Green Wave. Reed finished with nine kills and led an area of the team that Crane is particularly excited to see. “Onerica Reed, middle, and also Madi Saulsbery, both were starters last year; good returners for us,” Crane said. “But, speaking of hitters, we also have three new players who haven’t played in two or three years starting. So, them coming back, they’re super athletic, so it works out for us. Madison Mittag, our right side, feels like a secret weapon and she kills the ball almost every time she hits it. Hopefully, we keep improving our hitting.” Piper Schoemehl also had a quality evening. She finished with 11 assists and had a perfect serving percentage as well. Overall, Crane calls the sophomore “the glue.” “Piper is extremely important,” Crane said. “She was a starting setter last year, as a freshman on the varsity squad. She also hits; we’re working on her setup more. We’re struggling a little bit with that, but Piper’s the glue. The glue as far as where the ball goes and who’s hitting the ball. So, it’s important for her to be on and it’s important for us to give the ball to her so she can set us up.”