VB Girls Move to 17-4
On Tuesday, September 25, the Lady Indians added two more wins to their season record. St. Francis scored wins over Decatur Community (25-13, 25-11) and Cheylin (25-19, 25-16) in Oberlin. The victories advanced the Lady Indians season record to 17-4.
After missing their first serve of the match, Decatur Community added two kills by 6' 0" Jr. Anna Carter to take an early lead. A kill by Emma Johnson off a set by Jessica Confer tied the set at 3-all. The play began a 4-point run including a Confer ace and a kill by Mia Morrow extending the lead to 6-3. Three consecutive errors by the Lady Indians gave Decatur Community (DC) their only three-point run of the set, again resulting in a tied score. A scoring tip by Lindsey Johnson and a stuff by Hanna Zimbal on an attack by Jean Soderland (5' 8" Sr.) gave St. Francis a 9-7 advantage. The Lady Red Devils narrowed the margin, but St. Francis answered with a kill and an ace by Lauren Johnson to lead 12-9. DC would pull within one again (14-13) before the Lady Indians took full control. Behind some consistent serving by Confer, the Lady Indians reeled off an eleven-point run to close the set. The run featured kills by Morrow (2; plus passing errors on two more Morrow attacks), Lindsey Johnson, Emma Johnson, and an ace serve by Confer. St. Francis won set one 25-13.
St. Francis only allowed one three-point run in set two while earning runs of 5, 4, 3, 6, and 3 to out-distance the Lady Devils. Two kills by Jessica Confer and an ace by Karly Bandel helped earn a 5-point run to establish a 5-1 advantage. DC trimmed the margin to two (6-4) before the Lady Indians scored a kill by Mia Morrow and a stuff block by Lindsey Johnson during a 4-point run to widen the gap to 10-4. DC's Anna Carter followed with a powerful spike to end the run. Kills by Emma Johnson, Morrow, Hannah Zimbal, and Lauren Johnson helped move the scoreboard to 15-6. DC had seen enough and took a time-out. After a missed serve by the Lady Indians, St. Francis reeled off six consecutive points to increase the advantage to 21-7. The final three scores came on two kills by Confer and an ace by Lauren Johnson. The Lady Devils then earned a three-point run including a stuff by Carter and an ace serve. The run ended on a strong stuff block by Zimbal, but Carter smashed another spike on the following volley. St. Francis closed a 25-11 win with a kill by Emma Johnson.
The Cheylin match was more competitive. St. Francis jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set opening with a stuff by Hannah Zimbal and receiving an ace by Lauren Johnson. The run ended on a kill by Jesie Frisbie (Sr.). St. Francis followed with a well-placed tip by Emma Johnson and a kill by Jessica Confer after an outstanding save by Lindsey Johnson. Cheylin's Grace Sabatka (Jr.) earned a tip-kill to stop the Lady Indians' advance, but missed their next serve. Mia Morrow then earned a kill to move the scoreboard to 8-2. The next kill in the set was recorded by Lauren Johnson, making the score 11-4 and triggering a Cheylin time-out. An ace by Morrow gave St. Francis a 13-5 advantage, but Cheylin followed with a three-point run narrowing the margin to 5 points before Confer ended the run with a kill. Soon, a kill by Emma Johnson and a kill and stuff by Confer led to another St. Francis 4-point run advancing the lead to ten (19-9). Scrappy as always, Cheylin followed with a 5-point run including three Lady Indian errors and two kills by Sabatka. The action caused a St. Francis time-out to slow momentum. After returning to action, Cheylin missed a serve, but the Lady Indians returned the favor. Back-to-back kills by Lindsey Johnson and Morrow began a three-point SF run re-extending the lead to 23-16 before Nellie Hespe (Fr.) earned a stuff for the Lady Cougars. Lindsey Johnson recorded a stuff on the next play. The set ended on a dump-set by Lauren Johnson. St. Francis won set one 25-19.
Set two followed a similar path. St. Francis jumped out to a 6-1 lead getting kills by Jessica Confer (2) and an ace by Karly Bandel. Cheylin took a time-out trailing 6-1. Though Jesie Frisbie earned a stuff block on the next volley, a kill by Confer, a stuff and kill by Lindsey Johnson, and a kill by Lauren Johnson soon increased the margin to six points (10-4). Cheylin nearly recovered during the action that followed. Though Hanna Zimbal earned a stuff and Confer a kill, the Lady Cougars narrowed the deficit to three (12-9) earning three kills and a stuff by Jesie Frisbie. Lauren Johnson opened a 4-point Lady Indian run with a dump-set, but three consecutive attack errors by the Lady Indians closed the gap to 16-12 before a dump-set by E. Johnson stopped the Cheylin run. It was the only three-point run the Lady Cougars would earn. A five-point run including kills by Mia Morrow, Lindsey Johnson, and an ace by Emma Johnson widened the difference to 22-13. Morrow and Zimbal each earned kills in the closing volleys. St. Francis defeated Cheylin 25-16 to win the match.
The junior varsity matches were very competitive with three points being the largest margin of victory in any set played. St. Francis lost both JV matches during the evening. St. Francis was defeated by Decatur Community 22-25, 26-24, 12-15 and Cheylin 23-25, 25-23, 14-16.
The Lady Indians will travel to Hoxie on Thursday, September 27, to play Hoxie and Dighton.
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