Monrovia's unable to overcome slow start in volleyball showdown with Western Boone

THORNTOWN, Ind — Eleven months separated the last time Monrovia and Western Boone's volleyball teams shared the floor with one another.

Last September saw the Stars narrowly escape with a victory over the Bulldogs, needing the fifth set to grab a win. Western Boone ultimately went on to qualify for the state finals, finishing as the second-best team in Class 2A. Tuesday marked a much-anticipated rematch between the two.

Though Monrovia gave the Stars its best shot, Western Boone and its aggressive offense came out victorious, winning 3-0 by set scores of 25-14, 25-20 and 25-14.

The game was one of a string of tough opponents the Bulldogs are set to face in the early season, having already played Class 2A regional finalist Linton-Stockton Saturday while prepping for upcoming dates with Martinsville, Plainfield, South Putnam, Indian Creek and Covenant Christian.

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"We're trying to beef up our schedule, and I think we did with Linton and WEBO right away," Monrovia coach Laura Rahn said. "Playing these hard teams, I feel like it should make conference a little slower."

What it means

It's never easy getting swept, especially considering how close the team was to beating the Stars last season, and how competitive Monrovia's volleyball team has been in recent years.

Much of the Bulldogs' early struggles can be credited to the team still trying to discover itself. While Monrovia brought back the majority of its talent, it lost a big piece in setter Lydia Dowden, who totaled a team-leading 421 assists last year. Replacing her is senior Shelby Clements, who's been trying to learn the position on the fly.

"I think there's a lot of positives (starting the season), we've got a lot of good seniors," Rahn said. "I just think it's early; we're still trying to figure out working with each other, the chemistry. I have a new setter (Clements) that's a senior, so she's trying to pick it up really fast. She's doing a nice job."

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Key plays

The key set of plays came in the second set as the Bulldogs gained momentum and tied things up at 15 apiece. A series of kills by the Stars and mistakes by the Bulldogs helped Western Boone get ahead with a 20-17 lead, eventually increasing their point total to 22.

Monrovia made a short run, pulling within three, 22-19, but a series of errors swung the set-in favor of the Stars.

"Our defense...I think we're super scrappy, we need to work on pushing the pass up a little closer to the net," Rahn said. "Our setters are always back at the 10-foot line so that we can run a faster offense. I think we should be able to hang with them (WEBO) in sectionals if we can work on that."

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From an offensive perspective, Rahn believes the team needs to open up the offense a bit more.

"I think we need to run a few more options," she said. "We need to speed up our game a little bit and our passing needs to improve to speed up our game."

By the numbers

There was one number that stuck out – No. 2. That's the number of Western Boone's outside hitter Raegan Durbin.

Only a sophomore, Durbin had 219 kills last season while becoming the Stars' most effective offensive weapon during their tournament run to the state finals. The same proved true against the Bulldogs.

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Whether it was serving the ball or hammering down a kill, Durbin showed how versatile and difficult she can be to guard, making the Bulldogs pay on multiple occasions. It opened up opportunities for the Stars' other options.

"She (Durbin) was who we were really trying to watch, but then they have all these other offensive threats and a fast offense," Rahn said. "We're still working on that."

Looking ahead

The Bulldogs return to action Thursday for a matchup with Eastern Greene before taking on rival Eminence on Aug. 23.

Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.