Lady Indians Win Two
The St. Francis Lady Indians looked sharp on Tuesday, September 27, in their matches against Decatur Community and Cheylin. The Lady Indians passed, set, and attacked the ball efficiently and rolled to two wins during the evening. In varsity action, St. Francis defeated Decatur Community 25-7, 25-19 and Cheylin 25-12, 25-21. St. Francis also won the only JV match played; the Lady Indians defeated Decatur Community 25-22, 25-13.
The varsity game against Decatur Community (DC) began with a DC missed serve. The Lady Indians then committed a net violation and gave up an ace and a kill to place the Lady Red Devils at a 1-3 advantage. It was the only three-point run the Lady Devils would earn in the game one. The Lady Indians soon reeled off runs of 4, 6, and 3 points to lead 15-6. The outburst included an ace by Zoe Sundstrom, an ace and deep-tip by Hanna Bracelin, and two kills and a stuff block by Katie Schmid. A Lady Indian hitting error gave DC their final point before the Lady Indians scored ten straight points to win game one. Schmid, Sundstrom, Lauren Johnson, and Lindsey Johnson each had kills during the final run. St. Francis dominated game one 25-7.
Game two was closer, but the Lady Indians were in control throughout the game. Decatur Community led 3-4 early in the contest, but the Lady Indians soon earned a three-point advantage (8-5) on an ace by Hanna Bracelin. Kate Schmid's kill completed a four-point Lady Indian run to move the score to 10-5. After a DC kill, the Lady Indians scored two more quick three-point runs to increase the advantage to 16-7. The flurry included two deep-tips by Bracelin, an ace by Jessica Confer, and a kill by each of the Johnson twins. The run ended with a missed serve. Decatur Community soon completed runs of 4 and 3 to trim the advantage to five points (21-16) with all the points coming on Lady Indian miscues. Along the way, Zoe Sundstrom and Bracelin each earned kills, and Sundstrom served an ace to help advance the Lady Indians' total. A missed serve by DC stopped the final rally, and a kill by Lauren Johnson and an ace by Hanna Bracelin widened the gap to 24-16. A missed serve, a setting error, and a passing error by the Lady Indians kept things interesting, but DC gifted the final point to the Lady Indians on a missed serve. St. Francis won game two 25-19.
The next match of the evening featured the junior varsity teams from St. Francis and Decatur Community. After an opening service error by DC, Hannah Zimbal earned a kill and then served three aces for the Lady Indians. Decatur Community scored 7 of the next 8 points to take a 5-7 lead. The outburst triggered a St. Francis time-out. After returning to the floor, the Lady Indians scored on a deep-tip by Karly Bandel and a kill by Zimbal to tie the game at 8-all. St. Francis regained the lead (10-9) capitalizing on another Bandel tip and an ace by Perla Yanez. Some strong serving by Bandel coupled with kills by Emileigh Dinkel and Bandel increased the advantage to 17-10 before a missed serve stopped the SF run. An over-pass kill by Dinkel and another ace by Zimbal helped move the advantage to ten points (21-11). The Lady Indians would not score consecutive points in the remainder of the contest, while DC chipped away at the lead with runs of 3, 4, and 3 points. As the game closed, Zimbal earned another ace, and Jayden McGinnis and Dinkel each had kills. St. Francis eventually earned their 25th point on a kill by McGinnis (assist Dinkel).
In game two, St. Francis earned a 5-1 advantage on an ace by Hannah Zimbal. DC regained the lead (5-6) with an their second ace of the game before a Zimbal kill tied the match at 6-all. A three-point SF run, all coming on DC errors, allowed the Lady Indians to regain a 10-9 advantage. A six-point run, capitalizing on two kills by Bandel and an ace by Jayden McGinnis, gave the Lady Indians a 16-10 lead. A free-ball kill followed by two aces by Perla Yanez increased the margin to 19-11. St. Francis closed game two with a five-point run to win 25-13. During the final run, Bandel served two aces, Zimbal earned a kill, and Emileigh Dinkel had two kills including the final point on a over-pass kill.
Cheylin was the final opponent for the Lady Indian varsity during the evening. Cheylin featured two tall, strong hitters, but the Lady Indians offensive attack kept Cheylin scrambling defensively throughout the match and made it difficult for the Lady Cougars to generate much of an offensive attack. Katie Schmid's second kill of the contest completed a five-point run for the Lady Indians and gave St. Francis a 7-2 advantage. The next Lady Indian run of three points came on kills by Lauren Johnson and Jessica Confer and a Cheylin hitting error (12-5). Leading 12-7 after an ace by Jesie Frisbe, the Lady Indians again put together an extended scoring run to increase the lead to 19-7. During the 7-point run, Taighe Weeter served an ace; and Zoe Sundstrom, Lauren Johnson (two), and Hanna Bracelin each had kills. Four Lady Indian miscues trimmed the lead to 19-12 before another 6-point run competed the game at 25-12. During the final run, Sundstrom had a kill and Lauren Johnson two aces.
Game two opened with an aggressive kill by Zoe Sundstrom. Hanna Bracelin followed with a tip and Lauren Johnson an ace to lead 3-0. A kill and ace by Sundstrom and powerful kill by Katie Schmid moved the advantage to 8-2. St. Francis increased the lead to 11-3 on tip-kills by Schmid and Jessica Confer. After a Cheylin time-out, the Lady Cougars ran off five consecutive points to narrow the margin to 11-8. All five points came on St. Francis errors. A swing-hit kill by Confer stopped the run. Lindsey Johnson's stuff gave the Lady Indians a 15-10 advantage. A couple miscues by the Lady Cougars, and a Bracelin kill, increased the lead to 18-11. After a missed serve by the Lady Indians, Cheylin closed the gap to two points (19-17) capitalizing of several passing errors by St. Francis. A tip-kill by Cheylin's Rachel Keltz closed the margin to 20-19, but Lauren Johnson answered with a kill for the Lady Indians on the next volley. The game concluded at 25-21 on a Cheylin passing error on a strong serve by Lauren Johnson.
The Lady Indians will travel to Hoxie on Thursday, September 29, to play Hoxie and Dighton.
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