Lady Indians Smack Longhorns
On Thursday, September 13, the Lady Indians hosted the LoneStar Lady Longhorns in high school volleyball. Only one match (best 3 of 5) was played. St. Francis controlled the match throughout the competition, jumping out to large leads, and playing a large number of players throughout each set. St. Francis scored 10 runs of three or more points in the match; LoneStar earned only four. The Lady Longhorn team had 7 freshman and sophomores and a total of 8 players. St. Francis won the match 25-11, 25-11, 25-14.
In set one, St. Francis trailed 1-2 early. It was the only time the Lady Indians trailed in the entire match. A 4-point run boosted the Lady Indians to a 5-3 advantage before a four-hit call stopped the run. In the run, Lindsey Johnson earned two kills and Lauren Johnson made a diving save to continue a volley that the Lady Indians won. Runs of 5, 4, and then 8 widened the margin to 22-6 before the Lady Indians began substituting players. Along the way, kills were recorded by Hannah Zimbal (3), Mia Morrow (4), and Lauren Johnson. Lindsey Johnson also earned a stuff-block. With the wide margin, several young Lady Indians received playing time including McKenna Poling, Alondra Gomez, and Jordyn Faulkender. With the score 24-8, St. Francis allowed the Lady Longhorns a 3-point run narrowing the advantage to 24-11. A missed serve closed set one. St. Francis defeated LoneStar 25-11.
The ensuing sets were much the same. Two strong serves by Karly Bandel led to LoneStar passing errors early in set two. A deep-tip by Mia Morrow moved the scoreboard to 3-0 before a missed serve slowed the Lady Indians. After a kill by LoneStar's Kayleigh Lockard (Fr.), St. Francis reeled off an 8-point run to led 11-2. in the run, kills were recorded by Jessica Confer (2), Lindsey Johnson, Mia Morrow, Lauren Johnson, and Emma Johnson while Mia Morrow scored on three ace serves. After a Longhorn time-out, the Lady Indians missed another serve to halt this run. St. Francis began substituting with the score 13-4, and soon earned a three-point run and a five-point run to lead 21-6. During the action, kills were recorded by Emma Johnson and Hannah Zimbal but most of the scores came on errors by the Lady Longhorns. LoneStar earned a 4-point run to close the gap to 21-10 on an ace by Jayna Lockard (So.) and a spike that hit the net by Idahly Martinez (So.). A tip-kill by Emma Johnson stopped the run. A strong serve by ZImbal then caused a LoneStar passing error. After a LoneStar time-out at 23-10, an attack error and two missed serves closed the match. St. Francis won set two 25-11. Set three opened with a 6-point St. Francis run followed by a 5-point one to give the Lady Indians an 11-1 advantage. Enroute, kills were earned by Jessica Confer (3) and Lindsey Johnson, and aces were recorded by Mia Morrow and Emma Johnson. Morrow also had two aggressive attacks that led to passing errors. The first two St. Francis runs again ended on Lady Indians serving errors. The young Lady Indians entered the action a bit earlier in set three. Following a kill by Lindsey Johnson, the Lady Indians soon earned a 6-point run to stretch the lead to 18-3. In the run, Hannah Zimbal earned a kill, Lauren Johnson served and ace, and Kattie Wurm earned a kill on a set by McKenna Poling. Trailing 21-6, the Longhorns earned runs of 3 and 6 to trim the Lady Indian advantage to 23-14, before a tip by Lauren Johnson and an ace by Morrow closed the set. Lady Indians, Hadleigh Hilt, Bailey Workman, McKenna Poling, Perla Yanez, Alondra Gomez, Hailey Robbins Kattie Wurm, and Jordyn Faulkender all contributed positively to the match win. St. Francis won set three 25-14.
St. Francis will play Bethune (CO) and Weskan in St. Francis on Tuesday, September 18. The Lady Indians will also host Chase County and Dundy County-Stratton on Thursday, September 20, at home.
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