The Lansing volleyball team got off to a solid start on Thursday, cruising past Turner and battling to a three-set win over a ranked 6A opponent in Blue Valley on the night. The Lady Lions beat Turner 25-11 and 25-15 before taking a 25-17, 25-27 and 25-18 victory over Blue Valley.
Beating a top-five team from a bigger class, head coach Julie Slater said, was a nice way to cap the first night of action for the Lansing squad.
“It was a good match, a great test for us,” Slater said. “They had a good team. I was very pleased with the way the girls worked together and faced a little adversity in the second match. The bounced back from that and played, I thought, really well in the third. They came out with good confidence in the third game and took it from the start.”
Lansing held a 6-5 lead early when Lori Angello came up and served five straight points to give the Lions an 11-5 advantage.
“In the Blue Valley match Kiersten (Kirkendoll) had a couple of aces, and Lori (Angello) had five aces,” Slater said. “I thought Lori was huge in the Blue Valley match, with a string of five points in a row in the third game. We pulled away with her serves, that was a crucial point there.”
Senior Allie Ewing also had some big moments in the win over Blue Valley, Slater added.
“Allie came up with a huge block against Blue Valley in the third game and she had a nice kill in there too,” the Lions’ coach said. “The seniors did a nice job leading.”
Ewing totaled 12 kills on the night while Angello led the team with 20 kills. Katie Delich had 13 kills, Tawnee Hall chipped in nine kills and Gabby Hacker added five kills to the effort.
“Our two middles, Gabby Hacker and Katie Delich, did a nice job blocking tonight,” Slater said.
Sara Slater led the team in digs, with Kiersten Kirkendoll and Katie Jensen adding to the defensive effort. Two new setters debuted for the Lions on Tuesday, Haylee Marsteller totaling 42 assists and Bri Lozenski adding 30 assists on the night.
“I was very pleased with their play, they did a great job spreading the offense,” Slater said. “We have a lot of weapons to use and our setters did a nice job distributing to them.”
Although they played well and took both wins, Slater said she’ll look for her to continue to improve.
“Of course we have some work to do,” the Lansing coach said. “But for the first night I was pleased.”
Lansing hosts its invitational tournament Saturday, the 10-team event beginning at 9 a.m. The Lady Lions play at 9 and 10 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. in pool play before semifinals begin at 2:30.
|
|
|
The Lansing volleyball team got off to a solid start on Thursday, cruising past Turner and battling to a three-set win over a ranked 6A opponent in Blue Valley on the night. The Lady Lions beat Turner 25-11 and 25-15 before taking a 25-17, 25-27 and 25-18 victory over Blue Valley.
Beating a top-five team from a bigger class, head coach Julie Slater said, was a nice way to cap the first night of action for the Lansing squad.
“It was a good match, a great test for us,” Slater said. “They had a good team. I was very pleased with the way the girls worked together and faced a little adversity in the second match. The bounced back from that and played, I thought, really well in the third. They came out with good confidence in the third game and took it from the start.”
Lansing held a 6-5 lead early when Lori Angello came up and served five straight points to give the Lions an 11-5 advantage.
“In the Blue Valley match Kiersten (Kirkendoll) had a couple of aces, and Lori (Angello) had five aces,” Slater said. “I thought Lori was huge in the Blue Valley match, with a string of five points in a row in the third game. We pulled away with her serves, that was a crucial point there.”
Senior Allie Ewing also had some big moments in the win over Blue Valley, Slater added.
“Allie came up with a huge block against Blue Valley in the third game and she had a nice kill in there too,” the Lions’ coach said. “The seniors did a nice job leading.”
Ewing totaled 12 kills on the night while Angello led the team with 20 kills. Katie Delich had 13 kills, Tawnee Hall chipped in nine kills and Gabby Hacker added five kills to the effort.
“Our two middles, Gabby Hacker and Katie Delich, did a nice job blocking tonight,” Slater said.
Sara Slater led the team in digs, with Kiersten Kirkendoll and Katie Jensen adding to the defensive effort. Two new setters debuted for the Lions on Tuesday, Haylee Marsteller totaling 42 assists and Bri Lozenski adding 30 assists on the night.
“I was very pleased with their play, they did a great job spreading the offense,” Slater said. “We have a lot of weapons to use and our setters did a nice job distributing to them.”
Although they played well and took both wins, Slater said she’ll look for her to continue to improve.
“Of course we have some work to do,” the Lansing coach said. “But for the first night I was pleased.”
Lansing hosts its invitational tournament Saturday, the 10-team event beginning at 9 a.m. The Lady Lions play at 9 and 10 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. in pool play before semifinals begin at 2:30.
