Dixon put the pedal down from the get-go Thursday, building quick leads in both sets and never looking back in a 25-18, 25-13 Big Northern Conference win over Stillman Valley at Lancaster Gym.

“We talked before the match about how we wanted to make sure going into this game that we started strong and finished like that all the way through,” senior hitter Morgan Hargrave said.

“Our last couple games, we’ve been starting strong, then getting down, then we kind of stay close the entire set. So we really wanted to get that lead, have that cushion, then bring that confidence in the team to really play our game and take our big swings – and I think we did that.”

The Duchesses (11-2, 3-0 BNC) set the tone in the back row. Libero Yui Santos and her defensive cohorts were all over the court, rarely letting balls hit the floor and flipping precise passes to setters Leah Carlson and Presley Lappin.

The connection of all three phases of the game – pass to set to hit – was on point all match long.

“I think that it’s always defense that sets the tone. I feel like with every single dig we get, it’s always high energy – and if we can get a big kill afterward, we set the momentum from there,” said Santos, who led Dixon with 10 digs. “We feed off each other: good pass, good set, good kill, then another good pass. We know our setter-hitter connection is strong, and that runs through to the passer, too. We just play at our own pace, and we’re all having fun out there.”

Dixon’s serving was also a weapon. Hargrave, Lappin, Micki Worrell and Solis Thompson all went on service runs of at least four points, and Dixon notched 10 aces against just four service errors.

“We do so much serving in practice, and it really pays off in the game,” Thompson said. “Games like this when someone serves awesome, it kind of sets everyone else on a spiral to serve great and keep it going. We always go in wanting to play our best and start strong every time, and we did that with our serving tonight.”

Three Hargrave kills and an ace, two aces from Carlson and a kill by Izzy Queckboerner set up the Duchesses with a 7-2 lead in the first set, then Rayven Mowery smacked a couple of kills before another kill and ace by Hargrave and a kill by Queckboerner made it 20-12.

Stillman Valley (5-15, 0-3 BNC) got a pair of kills by MacKenzie Shere and a spike by Aleigha Hodge to cut the deficit to 20-18, but kills by Queckboerner, Carlson and Mowery ended the set.

“I thought we did a great job when we got in that slump of fighting out of it as soon as possible,” Hargrave said. “That’s what we’ve been struggling with the last couple of games, and we didn’t let it get to us tonight.”

The Duchesses led 6-0 in the second set after a Micki Worrell ace, a Hargrave kill and back-to-back blocks by Thompson, who then added a kill and two aces to stretch the margin to 11-2.

A Thompson kill and ace and a Lucy Feick block made it 19-10, then a kill by Queckboerner and another block by Feick sandwiched a pair of Hargrave aces before Carlson slammed back-to-back kills to end the match.

“Our defense was impressive, our offense was rolling, we were passing and blocking and serving strong. It was just a good game all the way around,” Hargrave said. “It’s very nice to see everyone coming together and doing their job to the best of their ability, like we know we can.”

Hargrave had seven kills, four aces and four digs, and Carlson finished with 11 assists, three kills, five digs, two aces and a block. Queckboerner and Mowery each had four kills, Thompson added two kills, two blocks, four digs and three aces, and Lappin had six assists and four digs. Worrell served eight points to go with four digs and a pair of assists.

Hodge led the Cardinals with six kills, Shere added three kills and Avalyn Jansen spiked two more, while Joslyn Nanni dished nine assists and Presley Zilm served six points.

“The first game on offense were were executing very well, but it was a little tough for us to get in rhythm,” Stillman coach Jamie McCarty said. “Serving was big. Usually serve receive is one of our better areas, and we just had a tough night and it hurt us a little bit. We’ve been in a slump, but the girls are playing hard.”