High school volleyball: McKenzie Anderson shines as Colts claim sweep over Hunter

MURRAY — McKenzie Anderson had to change nearly everything she did on the volleyball court to help the Colts this season.

"I kind of knew it was coming," the senior said of moving from outside hitter to setter this fall. "It's still tough. I still struggle a lot."

She didn't struggle much Tuesday night, though, as the fourth-ranked Colts swept Hunter 25-21, 25-16, 25-15. Anderson distributed the ball well and kept the Cottonwood offense unpredictable.

The confidence with which the squad played was a stark contrast to the disappointing result they had at Highland High's tournament last weekend.

"We played with a lot of intensity tonight," said Anderson. "This weekend, we got down on ourselves really easy. Tonight was a big difference."

Coach Jenna Neves said the team set smaller goals for Tuesday's game in hopes of getting back on track and keep their undefeated region record.

"I was really impressed with the girls," Neves said of how the team bounced back from several disappointing losses. "We made some goals for this game, and we definitely accomplished them."

One of those was to not allow the Wolverines' serve to unhinge their offense..

"We did a good job of ending their runs," said Neves.

Middle hitter Alexis Aalona got the Colts' offense going in the first set and led the team with 10 kills. Alydia Fields and Kenedi Ayre also played well at the net. Ayre turned a lot of heads when she told the officials that she'd touched a ball that was hit out by Hunter. Referees didn't see the touch and had awarded the ball to Cottonwood.

The senior captain said she hesitated only for a second before letting officials know she'd actually touched the ball last.

"I just wouldn't want to win that way," Ayre said. "I want us to win by earning the points."

Neves said she wasn't surprised by Ayre volunteering the information to officials.

"That's not something you're going to see a lot," Neves said. "I was very impressed with her. ... She's my captain. She gets the job done for us."

Ayre said it was nice to play with good team chemistry again.

"It felt good to be ourselves again," Ayre said.