Lady Indians Win Two More
The Lady Indians made a clean sweep of their matches against Triplains-Brewster and Wallace County on Thursday, October 11, in St. Francis. The evening was also Senior Night, and two SFCHS seniors and their parents were recognized immediately before the last match of the evening. The two seniors recognized were Nicole Bonsignore, foreign exchange student from Italy who lives with host parents Troy and Kary Meyer, and Katie Schmid, whose parents are Tim and Tina Schmid.
Junior Varsity vs Triplains-Brewster
The opening match of the evening featured the St. Francis junior varsity against the Triplains-Brewster (TPB) team. St. Francis made short work of the Lady Titans winning in two sets 25-6, 25-2. TPB did not score more than two consecutive points at any point in the match. St. Francis jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead aided by some strong serves by Karly Bandel and two aggressive kills by Hannah Zimbal. The extended run ended when the Lady Indians failed to effectively cover the right-back portion of the court. The next Lady Indian run of seven points widened the margin to 23-4 and included some good serves by Alondra Gomez and kills by Emileigh Dinkel and Bandel. St. Francis' final point came on an ace serve (off-the-net) by Nicole Bonsignore.
Game two was not very competitive, and the Lady Indians easily cruised to a 25-2 victory. Karly Bandel served the first eight St. Francis points earning an ace and getting help from teammates Hannah Zimbal (two kills) and Alondra Gomez (kill). The next run, initiated by another Zimbal kill, found Zimbal serving 14 consecutive points including five aces. Enroute, St. Francis received kills from Jayden McGinnis and Bandel. The score quickly ballooned to 23-1 before a missed served prevented Zimbal from running the table. In the match, middle hitter Zimbal completed with each attack as a kill.
Varsity vs Triplains Brewster
Each team had six scoring runs of three or more points in the St. Francis - TPB match. The Lady Indians earned a 5-1 lead in game one after several attack errors by TPB and a nice kill by Zoe Sundstrom. An aggressive kill by Katie Schmid was followed by an ace by Hanna Bracelin. The combination advanced the scoreboard to 9-4. The score remained a five-point spread until a TPB missed serve was followed by a TPB passing error and two net violations to extended the margin to 15-6. Though TBP trimmed the deficit to six, four kills in five volleys went in favor of St. Francis. Sundstrom and Bracelin each earned two kills pushing the margin to 19-10. Again, TPB trimmed the lead to five. St. Francis won game one 25-15 earning points on 6 of the last 7 volleys. Jessica Confer had consecutive kills in the final flurry.
Game two opened with an early 8-point St. Francis run resulting in a 10-1 lead. The run included kills by Hanna Bracelin, Jessica Confer (two), and two aces by Madi Tice. The gap closed to 11-5 after several St. Francis miscues and stayed around 5 points until a kill by Lindsey Johnson moved the score to 14-7. The Lady Indians increased the lead to eight (15-7) at one point, but soon TPB closed with five (15-10). St. Francis finished with several excellent plays including kills by Lindsey Johnson, Zoe Sundstrom, Jessica Confer (three), a joust at the net won by Confer, an ace by Taighe Weeter, two aces by Bracelin, and a final kill by Katie Schmid. St. Francis won game two 25-17.
Varsity vs Wallace County
St. Francis avenged an earlier loss to Wallace County with a 25-19, 25-16 win. The games were fairly close; Wallace County led in each game, but the Lady Indians seemed to be in control the majority of the time. St. Francis led 3-0, but Wallace County (WC) took a 4-5 lead before a tip-kill by Zoe Sundstrom tied game one at 5-all. Back-to-back kills by Lindsey Johnson and Katie Schmid helped extend the SF lead to 11-7. Lindsey's next kill moved the score to 12-8. The Lady Wildcats tied the contest at 13-all before Lindsey Johnson's third kill of the game put St. Francis back in front. The back-and-forth action continued with both teams playing aggressively. Kills by Hanna Bracelin, Katie Schmid, and Lauren Johnson kept the Lady Cats at bay until a coverage error by the Lady Indians allowed the score to become tied at 18. A setting error on the next play gave WC a 18-19 lead. The Lady Indians responded well, reeling off seven consecutive points to win game one 25-19. Behind consistent serves by Taighe Weeter, the Lady Indians made several good defensive plays, earned two kills by Sundstrom, and finished the game on a double block by the Johnson twins.
Game two was very similar. St. Francis led 3-0, but fell behind 3-4 after three consecutive aces by WC's Cassidy Kriegh. St. Francis took the lead for good (5-4) on a kill (off-a-block) by Hanna Bracelin. With the Lady Wildcats within one point (11-10), St. Francis scored three consecutive points on a WC missed serve, a tip-kill by Zoe Sundstrom, and a Taighe Weeter ace to lead 14-10. After a SF setting error allowed a point, Sundstrom followed with another aggressive kill (15-11). A five-point run included a deep-tip by Lauren Johnson, a Bracelin kill, and a joust at the net won by Jessica Confer, extending the advantage to 20-12. Though the Lady Wildcats again closed within five (21-16), the Lady Indians finished with four consecutive points on three WC miscues and kill by Katie Schmid. St. Francis won the deciding game 25-16.St. Francis will play in the Northwest Kansas League Volleyball Tournament in Atwood on Saturday, October 15.
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