Devils fall in three sets to Waterville-Mansfield

WILSON CREEK — After winning their first two games of the season last week, the Wilson Creek Devils entered a home conference matchup against the Waterville-Mansfield Shockers on Monday.

Despite running high after the wins, Wilson Creek fell to the Shockers in three sets on Monday.

“We were really excited coming into the night, but we knew that it would be a tough game,” Wilson Creek head coach Christa Christopherson said. “It’s also really hard to come off of a weekend (game) and play a Monday game, especially against one of the better teams in the league.”

Waterville-Mansfield jumped out to an early lead in the first set, taking a 17-5 lead late in the first set. The Devils were able to rally off four of the next five points to cut the deficit to nine points, but the Shockers once again began to pull away. After a timeout following three consecutive Wilson Creek points, Waterville-Mansfield took the first set 25-13.

“The first set, we just kind of needed to figure it out a little bit,” Christopherson said.

After the loss in the first set, the Devils were able to jump out to a 3-1 lead. The second set saw a back-and-forth affair on the court, with both teams tied at five, eight, 12 and 21.

“I really wasn’t coaching them as much the second set because they were talking, they were having fun,” Christopherson said. “They were doing all the things they needed to be doing.”

Each time the Devils jumped out to a lead in the set the Shockers were able to rally for the tie, and in the final moments were able to pull out the win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Shockers led by one point after the first 10 rallies of the third set, later taking a 12-8 lead after the first 20 rallies. After a Wilson Creek timeout, Waterville-Mansfield began to pull away and took a 20-11 lead. The Shockers were able to stave off a run where the Devils scored five of seven points en route to a 25-16 win in the third set, giving the visiting Shockers a 3-0 win.

“In the third set, I think they were just a little shaken up from losing the second set,” Christopherson said. “It was hard to bounce back because we were having really long rallies, and we just weren’t finishing them.”

Even with the loss, Christopherson said that there are positives that the team can take into their next match.

“The girls worked so hard, particularly in that second set,” Christopherson said.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box score

Set 1: Waterville-Mansfield 25, Wilson Creek 13

Set 2: Waterville-Mansfield 25, Wilson Creek 23

Set 3: Waterville-Mansfield 25, Wilson Creek 16