Lady Indians Win Two More
The Lady Indians traveled to Tribune for competition on Tuesday evening, September 17, and came home with two more victories. The Lady Indians earned a 29-27, 25-13 victory over a scrappy Greeley County team and then finished the evening with a 25-21, 25-19 win over Wallace County. The action moved the Lady Indians season record to 10-3.
The junior varsity teams had a "light' evening, only competing in one set with each of their opponents. St. Francis lost to Greeley County 15-25 but defeated Wallace County 25-16.
St. Francis began the varsity contest against Greeley County (GC) with a powerful kill by Mia Morrow. Hannah Zimbal's ace moved the score to 3-0. Emma Johnson added a nice kill, but soon a series of missed serves began to take its toll. The second missed serve by the Lady Indians began a 5-point GC run concluding with an ace by junior Claudia Mancia and a successful joust at the net by senior Kamryn Youmans. The action placed the Lady Indians at a 7-9 deficit. A few passing errors by the Lady Jackrabbits evened the battle at 10-all before another missed serve ended the SF run. GC returned the favor on their service attempt, and the Lady Indians scored a 4-point run to lead 14-11. The run included kills by Morrow and Zimbal. Unfortunately, another missed serve, the 4th of the set for the Lady Indians, ended the fun. Three aces by Morrow, a kill by Rian Zimbal, and a GC error triggered the next SF run. The margin increased to 20-12. Missed serve number-five ended the run and began a 4-point GC run featuring kills by sophomore Grace Whitam and Youmans (20-16). A down-the-line kill by GC's Raelynn Welsh moved the scoreboard to 23-19. The Lady Rabbits would soon earn a 5-point run, showcasing an ace by junior Brianna Hill and a kill by sophomore Myla Reynolds, that placed SF at a one-point deficit (24-25) (as well as burning the first SF time-out). The Lady Indians used their second time-out and returned to the floor to earn a kill by Morrow tying the set at 25-all. Unfortunately, the Lady Indians missed their 6th serve of the set gifting the lead to GC. And.....GC also missed their service attempt re-tying the contest. Tied at 27-all, Johnson earned a kill giving the Lady Indians a slim 1-point lead (28-27). Morrow followed with an off-the-net ace ending set one. St. Francis won the set in a closely-fought battle 29-27.
Set two was controlled by the Lady Indians. An ace by Hannah Zimbal and a kill by Mia Morrow opened the action. Though a kill by Kamryn Youmans tied the set at 2-all, the Lady Indians did not trail in the game. A kill by Emma Johnson moved the score to 7-4. A kill by Zimbal on a set by Karly Bandel increased the lead to 5. The 5-point SF run ended on a SF attack error, but the Lady Indians were showing their skills. A deep-tip by Zimbal and an ace by Johnson helped move the advantage to 13-6. A four-point SF run featuring kills by Jesslynn Houtman and Jordyn Faulkender increased the margin to 10 points (18-8) before an over-set kill by Myla Reynolds ended the run. GC trimmed the margin to 19-12 receiving a kill and ace from Youmans and a stuff-block by Reynolds before missing a serve. The miss began a 5-point SF run, including two aces by Morrow, that increased the lead to 24-12. GC senior Mattie Brandl earned a nice tip-kill on the next volley, but Rian Zimbal's kill ended the match. St. Francis defeated Greeley County 25-13.
St. Francis and Wallace County (WC) traded several runs throughout their match before the outcome was decided. WC freshman Joss Benisch scored aces on the first two serves of the match. An over-pass tip by junior Tori Springsteel gave the Lady Wildcats a quick 0-3 lead in set one. A missed serve began a 5-point SF run that included 2 aces by Hannah Zimbal, a kill by Mia Morrow, and stuff by Jesslynn Houtman. The next Lady Indian run (3 points) began on a kill by Emma Johnson. It also included a Morrow ace and a deep-tip by Houtman. A 5-point SF run caused WC to use a time-out to regroup and moved the scoreboard to 14-6. This run featured a kill by Zimbal, two kills by Johnson, and a dump-set by Karly Bandel. Three SF miscues gave WC a 3-point run before a dump-set by Johnson closed the action. Soon, a 6-point WC run tied the set at 16-16. The run included two kills by senior Haylee Hennick and an ace by senior Aubrey Kuhlman. A kill by Zimbal and a joust at the net won by Zimbal helped SF to a 4-point run. WC soon answered with a 4-point run of their own bringing the score to 22-21 and triggering a SF time-out. After the time-out, the Lady Indians scored on a missed serve by WC, a WC passing error, and a kill by Johnson. St. Francis won set one 25-21.
A four-point SF run moved the score to 5-1 in set two. The run included two kills by Mia Morrow. The second missed serve of the set by SF ended the run. After a kill by Hannah Zimbal, the Lady Wildcats earned a 4-point run, all coming on SF miscues, to tie the set at 6-all. St. Francis followed with a 5-point run extending the margin to 11-6. This run featured an ace by Alondra Gomez, a deep-tip by Hannah Zimbal, and a kill by Rian Zimbal. The next run, 3-points by SF, included two aces by Morrow and moved the score to 18-11. WC spent their final time-out attempting to slow the SF momentum. Back-to-back kills by Rian Zimbal moved the score to 20-13 before a 4-point WC run narrowed the margin again. This run allowed the Lady Wildcats to trim the margin to 20-18, and St. Francis used a time-out to regroup. As they have often done, the Lady Indians closed the set with five straight points. On the first volley, Hannah Zimbal smacked an aggressive kill to the floor. Emma Johnson followed with an ace. Rian Zimbal then scored on an over-pass kill. After a net violation on WC, Johnson ended the set with another ace. St. Francis won set two 25-19.
In the limited junior varsity action (only one set was played versus each opponent), St. Francis quickly fell behind Greeley County 0-6. At 2-10, St. Francis called time-out to regroup. St. Francis earned their first (and only) run of the set on two WC miscues and an ace by Bailey Workman. The action narrowed the deficit to 8-14. An off-the-net kill by Rian Zimbal moved the score to 10-17 and an ace by Mireya Palasio-Rocha clicked the score to 12-19. The Lady Indians lost the game to the Lady Jackrabbits 15-25.The Lady Indians showed a much improved offensive attack against Wallace County. An ace by Molly Gilliland gave SF a 2-0 lead. An ace by Hailey Robbins made the score 4-2. WC earned a 3-point run placing SF at a 5-7 deficit. The run included a nice kill by sophomore Brookley Dinkel. A kill by Bailey Workman ended the WC run. Dinkel's next kill moved the score to 7-10 and soon another WC 3-point run including a kill by junior Kylie Ryser increased the margin to 9-13. St. Francis had seen enough and called time-out. The Lady Indians narrowed the gap to 12-13 on two kills by Mireya Palasio-Rocha. Trailing 12-14, the Lady Indians executed very well behind some consistent serving by Hailey Robbins and scored 9 consecutive points to lead 21-14. The action featured 3 kills by Palisio-Rocha and three aces by Robbins. A missed serve (the 4th of the set by SF) ended the run. A deep-tip by Molly Gilliland and a deep-tip by Hadleigh Hilt were highlights of the final 4-point SF run ending the match. St. Francis defeated Wallace County 25-16.
The Lady Indians will play Bethune (CO) and Weskan on Tuesday, September 24 in Weskan.
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