Lady Indians Lose Two In Nebraska
JV Defeats DCS
The Lady Indian varsity volleyball team lost both of their matches in Benkelman, NE, on Tuesday, September 26. The Lady Indians earned a first set win over Dundy County - Stratton (DCS) 25-16, but the Lady Tigers earned victories in the final two sets 20-25, 20-25. Against Chase County (Imperial), St. Francis lost a close battle in the first set 23-25 and then fell 15-25 in the deciding set.
At the DCS Elementary School, the Lady Indian junior varsity defeated DCS 25-19, 25-9; but lost to Chase County 17-25, 18-25.
Extended runs were the deciding element in all three sets versus Dundy County - Stratton. St. Francis earned several runs in the first set; DCS earned them in the final two sets. After an opening volley kill by DCS junior Maggie Lutz, Jordyn Faulkender's tip gave St. Francis a 3-2 advantage. DCS followed with a 3-point run featuring two kills by senior Sydney Reichert to lead 3-5. A five-point SF run, including a kill by Mia Morrow and three aces by Ellee Krien, moved the scoreboard to 8-5. The next SF run, three-points in length, advanced the score to 11-7 and featured a tip-kill by Hannah Zimbal and and a kill by Morrow. DCS pulled within two (12-10) as the game gradually moved ahead. Leading 16-12, an ace by Krien and back-to-back kills by Rian Zimbal helped increase the margin to 19-13. Though DCS received strong kills from Lutz and senior Jessie Freeland, the margin never reduced below five. St. Francis ended the set with four consecutive points on three DCS errors and a kill by Morrow. St. Francis won set one 25-16.
St. Francis opened the second set with a 4-point run including two kills by Mia Morrow. An over-pass tip by junior Savannah Merklin ended the run. Trailing 5-1, DCS scored on 11 of 12 volleys to take a 6-12 advantage. The run featured two kills by Lutz, a stuff and an over-pass kill by Freeland, and two aces by junior Paige Thornbrugh. The Lady Indians used both time-outs attempting to stop the onslaught; and finally, a back-row kill by Emma Johnson ended the DCS momentum. A Johnson stuff-block moved the score to 8-15. A three-point run, all coming on DCS errors helped the Lady Indians stay within striking distance (11-17), but a thunderous kill by Merklin closed the run. St. Francis fell behind by eight (12-20), but earned a four-point run late in the game (including two kills by Hannah Zimbal) to close within three (20-23). St. Francis lost set two 20-25.
An extended run of 8 points decided game three. Five missed serves by the Lady Indians did not help either. DCS's Maggie Lutz began set three with an off-the-block kill. Emma Johnson answered with an aggressive dump-set on the next play. Only two more kills (Rian Zimbal & Johnson) were earned by the teams on their way to a score of 8-9. Mia Morrows's strong spike tied the set, and Karly Bandel's ace gave St. Francis a slim one-point lead (10-9). Then the Lady Tigers unleashed an eight-point run that essentially decided the match. Lutz opened the run with back-to-back kills which were soon followed by three aces by Paige Thornbrugh. The explosion moved the scoreboard to 10-17 before a missed serve ended the run. Another 4-point DCS run advanced the deficit to 13-21. St. Francis scored their only run of the set (three points) on a stuff-block by Rian Zimbal, an ace by Hannah Zimbal, and a DCS rotation error late in the set. St. Francis lost the match to DCS 20-25.
In the second match of the evening, St. Francis competed against a tall and athletic team from Chase County (CC). St. Francis allowed the Lady Longhorns to score the first two points but then scored on a dump-set by Emma Johnson. Tied at 3-all, the Lady Indians earned a 4-point run beginning with another dump-set by Johnson and completing with a kill by Mia Morrow, an off-the-block kill by Hannah Zimbal, and an over-pass stuff by Zimbal. After a back-row kill by CC sophomore Chloe Dillan, the Lady Indians earned another run of 3-points. The action included a dig-kill by Johnson and two errors by CC. The Lady Longhorns used their first time-out as the Lady Indians moved to a 10-4 advantage. Unfortunately, a missed serve ended the run and initiated a 5-point CC run. During the run, CC freshman Gisselle Acuna and junior Alexis Richmond recorded a double-stuff on an attack by Johnson, Acuna and senior Ashley Bubak recorded a double-stuff on Zimbal and freshman Bryn McNair served up an ace. The Lady Longhorns were beginning to demonstrate their front-line presence. The outburst moved the Lady Horns within one (10-9), but a timing error on an attempted attack ended the run. The Lady Longhorns then took the lead (11-12) on a kill by Richmond, an ace by junior Kora Weiss, and a SF net violation. A tip-kill by Johnson retied the set and was followed by an exchange of kills by McNair and Morrow (13-13). CC responded with a 5-point run, recording two more stuff-blocks and capitalizing on a few SF errors (13-17). St. Francis rallied with a 6-point run, beginning with a kill by Morrow, which included an ace by Karly Bandel and an off-the-block kill by Zimbal. The action gave the Lady Indians a brief 19-18 advantage, but soon an over-set tip by senior Mallie McNair retied the game. Two off-the-block kills, one by Morrow and one by Jordyn Faulkender gave the Lady Indians another slim lead (21-20). A free-ball attack error and two passing errors by the Lady Indians allowed CC to gain a 21-23 lead and burned the final SF time-out. After returning to action, Zimbal recorded an off-the-block kill narrowing the margin, but a SF attack error on the next play erased the gain. Zimbal's tip-kill moved the scoreboard to 23-24, but the set ended on a double-hit call on SF. St. Francis lost to Chase County in set one 23-25.
Mia Morrow and Bryn McNair exchanged kills early in set two. A stretch of excellent play by the Lady Longhorns resulted in an extended run for CC. Leading 1-2, CC won eight straight volleys to lead 1-10. St. Francis used both time-outs attempting to stall the momentum; and finally after the second time-out, the Lady Indians earned an attack error to end the onslaught. The CC run was highlighted by a quick-set kill by Gissele Acuna, a tip by Acuna, a tip by Mallie McNair, and an ace by Bryn McNair. After a scoring deep-tip by Hannah Zimbal, CC added a 4-point run which included 3 kills and an ace to extend the deficit to 3-14. Another deep-tip by Zimbal ended the run and was followed by a Zimbal stuff on a quick-set and a dump-set by Emma Johnson trimming the margin to 7-14. Kills by Rian and Hanna Zimbal narrowed the gap to 10-16, but CC then added a 3-point run including another ace (11-19). Johnson and Morrow followed with back-to-back kills. With the score at 14-21, a long extended volley including several outstanding defensive plays by both teams ended on an over-pass kill by Acuna. Though Morrow earned a kill for the Lady Indians on the next volley, CC finalized the match with three straight points including one more ace. St. Francis lost to Chase County 15-25.
The Lady Indians will play in Bird City on Tuesday, October 1, against Cheylin and Decatur Community.
