VB Teams Compete In Hoxie
The Lady Indians competed in Hoxie on Thursday, September 27 against two quality teams. The Lady Indian varsity team lost a close match to Hoxie 19-25, 23-25 and later defeated Dighton in straight sets 25-21, 25-21. The junior varsity Lady Indians lost both of their matches in two sets. St. Francis was defeated by Hoxie 21-25, 15-25 and Dighton 15-25, 16-25.
In set one, Hoxie jumped out to an early 0-6 lead resulting from two aces by Ayleen Dimas (5' 5" So.), a stuff-block by Baylee McKenna (5' 6" So.), a tip-kill, and two Lady Indians errors. After a time-out for a discussion, St. Francis earned a 3-point run which included a kill by Hannah Zimbal. Hoxie's aggressive serving and attack game kept the Lady Indians off-balance and led to several errors and free-balls. Lindsey Johnson earned a kill moving the score to 5-9, but it would be the only kill the Lady Indians would earn until the Hoxie point total was in the twenties. Jessica Confer served back-to-back aces and coupled with three Hoxie attack errors allowed the Lady Indians to earn the lead (10-9). The lead lasted one volley, and soon a 4-point run by Hoxie caused St. Francis to take a time-out. The Hoxie run included two kills each by Macy Schamberger (5' 7" Jr.) and Lauren Spillman (5' 10" So.). Another 4-point Hoxie run moved the score to 13-19 and featured a tip-kill by Lexi Torluemke (5' 7" Jr.) and two aces by Schamberger. The margin grew to seven (14-21) on an ace by Dimas. St. Francis answered with a kill by Jessica Confer and two aces by Lauren Johnson narrowing the gap to 17-21. The Lady Indians would get no closer, and Hoxie closed the set with three consecutive kills by Trinity Balluch (2) (5' 7" Sr.) and Schamberger. St. Francis and not passed very well in set one and lost 19-25.
Hoxie opened set two with two more kills--one each by McKenna and Spillman. The Lady Indians then ran off 5 straight points getting a kill by Lindsey Johnson and capitalizing on several Hoxie miscues. The run ended with another McKenna spike. A kill by Schamberger and an ace (off-the-net) by McKenna tied the set at 6-all. Though the Lady Indians missed their next two serves, a stuff by Hannah Zimbal tied the set at 10-all and caused a Hoxie time-out. Hoxie took a two-point lead (10-12) on an ace by Schamberger, but soon the Lady Indians regained the lead (14-13) on a dump-set by Lauren Johnson. Unfortunately, the Lady Indians missed their next serve giving some momentum back to Hoxie. Jessica Confer made an outstanding hit along the net to tie the set at 15, but a tip into the deep corner of the court gave Hoxie another two-point advantage and caused St. Francis to spend a time-out. After returning to action, Lauren Johnson earned a point on another dump-set. Hoxie answered with a kill by Balluch and a stuff-block. Trailing 16-19, the Lady Indians took their final time-out. An ace by Maiah Castle (5' 7" Sr.) gave Hoxie a 4-point advantage (17-21). Zimbal's stuff of Schamberger closed the gap to two (19-21), but the Lady Indians missed another serve; their 4th of the set. Hoxie closed the set with two kills by Spillman and one by McKenna. Confer also had a kill in the final volleys. St. Francis lost set two and the match 23-25. St. Francis recorded 9 kills in the set, Hoxie had 22. St. Francis earned 4 aces while Hoxie had 9. Dighton featured a tall and talented team, but the Lady Indians played well and secured another victory. Emma Johnson opened set one with an over-set kill. A four-point run by the Lady Indians included two kills by Jessica Confer, a kill by Lauren Johnson, and an ace by Karly Bandel and extended the Lady Indians' lead to 5-2. A missed serve stalled the run and began a 4-point Dighton run which included a kill by Dighton's Ella Roberts (Jr.). Another Confer kill tied the set at 6-all. Lauren Johnson's over-pass stuff gave the Lady Indians a slim lead, but the Lady Hornets followed with a 5-point run including four Lady Indian errors and causing a St. Francis time-out (7-11). Moments later, the Lady Indians earned a 6-point run with all six points coming on good plays by the team. In the run Lindsey Johnson, Mia Morrow (2), and Hanna Zimbal each had kills and Zimbal recorded a stuff. The scoreboard showed the Lady Indians leading 13-12, and Dighton called time-out to re-group. St. Francis won four of the next five volleys earning a tip-kill by Zimbal and two aces by Morrow enroute to a 17-13 lead before missing another serve. The Lady Hornets closed within one (17-16) before a dump-set by Lauren Johnson and a kill by Zimbal widened the margin. Unfortunately, another missed serve slowed the momentum. An aggressive spike by Emma Johnson moved the score to 20-17, but Roberts answered with a tip on the next play. Lindsey and Emma Johnson then each added kills triggering the last Dighton time-out (22-18). After the time-out, Roberts earned another kill, but then missed her serve. The Lady Indians kept things interesting by missing their next serve also. Traci Cramer (Fr.) hammered a spike pulling the Lady Hornets within two (23-21). The final two volleys ended on Dighton miscues. St. Francis won set one 25-21.
Dighton's Gracie George (Jr.) opened set two with an over-set kill. The Lady Indians followed with a four-point run including kills by Lauren Johnson, Emma Johnson, and Hanna Zimbal. George's attack then caused a St. Francis passing error, but Emma Johnson earned a kill on a nice set by Karly Bandel. Ella Roberts then smacked one to the floor with authority starting a three-point run that tied the set at 5-all. A kill by Mia Morrow was followed by an ace by Jessica Confer resulting in an 8-5 St. Francis lead. A kill by Cramer plus two SF attack errors soon tied the set (8-8). St. Francis then scored three consecutive points on a kill by Lindsey Johnson, a stuff by Lauren Johnson, and an passing error on an aggressive serve by Emma Johnson. The next Lady Indian run, 4-points in length, featured a tip and kill by Morrow and a short-serve ace by Lindsey Johnson. The lead jumped to 15-9 and resulted in a Dighton time-out. After regrouping, the Lady Hornets scored the next 7 points to take a 15-16 lead. The run included a kill by Roberts and three by O'Brien. Dighton extended their advantage to 17-19 on a stuff and a kill by Roberts causing a St. Francis time-out. After an exchange of kills by Confer and Roberts, St. Francis earned a 3-point run including kills by Lindsey and Emma Johnson to take a 21-20 lead. An attack error tied the set at 21-all, but St. Francis closed with four straight scoring volleys to win 25-21. The points resulted from a back-row kill by Bandel, two kills by Emma Johnson, and an ace by Confer.
St. Francis will compete in the Oberlin Invitational Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, September 29.
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