Passing fancy: Carson High volleyball sweeps Reed

A funny thing happened Wednesday afternoon in Carson City. The Carson High volleyball team learned how to pass.

After a struggling in a four-set loss to Spanish Springs on Tuesday, the Senators rebounded with a 25-17, 25-23 and 25-13 win over Reed Thursday night at Morse Burley Gym.

The win was Carson’s first in Northern 4A play. The Senators, 1-2, play Hug and North Valleys next week before finishing crossover play against McQueen a week from next Tuesday.

“We passed the ball really well,” Carson coach Robert Maw said after the easy victory.

“We played tonight as a team and not individuals. We served the ball really well tonight.

“I was really impressed with (libero) Abbey Paulson. She has taken some responsibility back there. Dajarrah Navarro (7 kills, 1 error) had a good night, too. They couldn’t stop her.”

Shea DeJoseph, who finished with six kills and two aces, talked about the difference between Tuesday and Thursday.

“We spent all day Wednesday passing the ball,” she said. “We passed the ball really well tonight.”

And, the serving wasn’t too bad, either. Carson had 13 aces, including six by Natalie Anderson, three by Stefanie Schmidt and two by DeJoseph.

In fact, it was Anderson who keyed Carson’s win in the opening set which featured four ties.

After Reed closed to 19-17 on a Schmidt service error, Anderson registered a kill to make it 20-17.

The senior took to the service line and served out the match.

The first two points came on Reed hitting errors, and Anderson finished it with three straight service aces. She also had two kills late in the match.

“They would scoot back and I would serve soft, and then when they moved up, I served deeper,” Anderson said.

Anderson had been the starting setter for the last three years, but an injury before the season forced her to miss some early action. She has been getting a chance to contribute on the front row, and she’s loving it.

“I’ve been setting for nine years in club,” she said. “It’s fun being on the receiving end of things.”

The second set featured 13 ties, the last being 20-20.

Navarro had a kill and Schmidt mishit the ball on the next point, but it fell safely to the ground to make it 22-20.

DeJoseph made it 23-20 with a kill off a block attempt.

Reed made it 23-22 with outstanding blocks at the net by Skyler Tremaine and Sadie Chalupa. After the teams traded points, DeJoseph ended the second set with a kill.

DeJoseph played a big role in the third-set win, and she got some help up front from Carissa Willey, who finished with six kills.

After Reed cut Carson’s lead to 15-12 on a kill by Maddi Weiss, the Senators ran off 10 of the next 11 points to complete the sweep.

A Reed service error started the run, and then Willey contributed a kill. DeJoseph served up two straight aces to make it 19-12, Reed misfired again and Willey had another kill to complete a 5-0 run. After a kill by Reed’s Lauryn Osendorf, the Senators scored the final four points, two coming on kills by Anderson and Willey.

“The coaches tell me where on the floor to serve the ball, and I do my best to get it there,” DeJoseph said.