NEVADA – To contend and – maybe, possibly – beat top-ranked (Class 3A) Nevada Tuesday night, the South Hamilton volleyball team knew it needed to play darned near perfect.

That was the vision, but the reality was pretty much the exact opposite.

Nervous, intimidated and, yes, even a bit scared, the Hawks were sluggish early and never got their legs under them before the Heart of Iowa Conference-leading Cubs swept them out of the gymnasium, 3-0, in a little over an hour.

The 25-11, 25-17, 25-10 setback was the first South Hamilton (11-5, 3-1 HOIC) had been dealt in 24 days, and it ended a string of nine consecutive victories.

Is Nevada (13-5, 4-0 HOIC) an outstanding team? You bet. But did the Hawks make it quite a bit easier on the 2014 state semifinalist Cubs than they should have? Again, you bet.

“They’re a smart team and they’re a good team, but I want to go back and look to see how many times they earned those points,” South Hamilton head coach Rusty Wintermote said. “Our kids had heart and they didn’t give up, but we weren’t ready to finish and deal with it.”

The performance brought back memories of the Aug. 29 Ames Invitational when the Hawks didn’t bring their best stuff to the court in a 2-0 loss to four-time defending 2A state champion Dike-New Hartford.

“It was Dike-New Hartford all over again where the name got to us,” Wintermote said. “I asked a few of them what do we look like out there and do we look like we’re afraid and scared of who they are? And the answer was yes. So it was more of a mental issue than a physical one.”

Passing gaffs, both from the back row to the servers and the servers to the hitters, created problems throughout the bout. Add in a talented set of defensive specialists from the Cubs – namely libero Caroline Wagner and her 12 digs – and it became nearly impossible for the Hawks to pile up kills.

After averaging 7.9 kills per set in its first 15 matches, South Hamilton was limited to 4.3 and 13 in all against the Cubs. A .238 hitting team prior to Tuesday, the Hawks hit a forgetful .018.

Nevada’s superior height at net forced a lot of tips from the Hawks, but Wagner and Abby Stephenson (12 digs) were there to scoop up anything that came their way.

“You notice the height, which is the front line of our defense, but I think the back row is every bit as intimidating at times,” Nevada head coach Will Bauman said. “We pride ourselves on defense. If we don’t get a great swing, our focus is to get the ball in because we know our defense is going to get us a swing.”

Ady Wintermote was limited to just six kills and Alyssa Hegland chipped in five. All-state middle hitter Kati Cassabaum lashed 11 for the Cubs, and teammates Erin Francis and Stephenson added nine and six, respectively.

South Hamilton led for just three points the entire match, all of them coming in the opening rallies of the second set. The Cubs quickly went on an 8-1 run to take command.

Back-to-back kills on tips by Ady Wintermote trimmed Nevada’s edge to 19-14 in the second, but the Hawks never got closer than five points.

Nevada opened the match with a flurry of five consecutive points to seize the momentum. South Hamilton got to within three before the Cubs reeled off 12 of the next 16 points.

Trailing 2-0, the Hawks never found a rhythm in the final set. An ace by Stephenson was the final nail in a 6-0 run, and Nevada brought out the dagger and eventually made it a 17-3 spurt. Cassabaum smashed a kill off a block to complete the sweep.

Hawks’ libero Anna Moss came up with a match-high 14 digs in the loss. Ady Wintermote and Hegland both finished with five.

Wintermote and Taylor Ratzke both collected three blocks.

Still hobbling somewhat because of a sprained ankle, setter Alissa Moss returned from a two-match absence to hand out six assists. Taylor Volkmann registered four and Makayla Cavan had three.

Usually a dominant serving team, South Hamilton was limited to just four aces.

Rusty Wintermote is hopeful his squad will respond to this setback similarly to what it did following the Ames tournament. That is the last time the Hawks lost prior to Tuesday.

“We’re going to move forward and get back to what made us competitive,” Rusty Wintermote said.

Nevada now sits all alone atop the league standings, one match ahead of South Hamilton, North Polk and Gilbert. The Cubs tripped up North Polk, 3-0, earlier this month.