Tuesday night the girls volleyball team faced Assumption, and after three sets, the match was neck and neck.

Bettendorf had dropped the first set 17-25, however, they quickly turned things around in the second set and handled the Knights (20-5) winning the second set 25-18.

“I think a lot of moments of us going on some rallies let us know we were close and had a chance to win. It pushed us and motivated us to get the second set,” said Brooke Magistrelli, a 2-year varsity player.

The third set, the closest of the night, ended in the Knights coming out on top 25-23. 

However, things got dicey in the fourth set. An error in the line up that was written for the Bulldogs’ in the fourth set had put many players out of position. 

“We had a lot of rotations that we weren’t used to and the chemistry was off because we weren’t playing next to the girls we had been playing next to for years,” said Ellie Erpelding, a 2-year starter for the team.

Lillie Petersen, teammate and 3-year starter, explained how Erpelding was a key to keeping the Bulldogs in the game. 

“Ellie did really well, she is normally just a setter but in this game she was hitting as well. She did really well for it being her first game playing front row,” Petersen said.

It was a sour way to end the game for the Bulldogs, but the team does not want to dwell on results, they want to focus on positives.

“Even though we didn’t have the outcome in both the PV and Assumption games, we still played the best volleyball that we could have,” said Petersen. 

Beyond the game Tuesday, there is room for improvement, and the primary points brought up by Magistrelli were setter-hitter connection, and giving maximum effort for each ball.

Next up for the Bulldogs are the Davenport North Wildcats, the game will be played September 27, 2022 at Bettendorf.