The 2022 Spring Grove volleyball girls (28-5) were the first in school history to be state-ranked and the first to win as many as 28 matches. The Lions, who were No. 7 in the coaches’ preseason state Class A poll, were No. 9 in the final rankings. It was a season of achievement both on the court and in the classroom. The team earned the state coaches’ Silver Award for a team GPA between 3.5 and 3.74, missing Gold Award status by one-hundredth of a point.
Photo by Lee Epps
Grove reached the semi-finals of the Section !A Tournament for a second straight season and for the fourth time all-time. The girls won two regular-season tournaments at Waukon, Iowa, and Goodhue. At the prestigious Class A Showcase at Burnsville, they won three of five matches against some of the best Class A clubs in the state while winning the Bronze Bracket championship.
All five Lion losses came against higher-ranked Class A powerhouses, including eventual state champion Minneota, eventual state third-place Mabel-Canton (twice), No. 4-ranked Bethlehem Academy and No. 7 Greenbush-Middle River.
That 28th victory came in the section quarterfinals versus Fillmore Central, the only five-set match of the year. It was the second straight season for the Lions to follow this postseason script: receiving the No. 4 section seed (among 20 teams), first eliminating the No. 13 seed (this year, Houston), then defeating No. 5 Fillmore Central in the quarterfinals and falling in the semi-finals to No. 1 seed Bethlehem Academy. However, those final two matches were more competitive. This season, it took five sets to get past the Falcons (3-2), and the Lions won a set against BA (1-3.)
There were two state-ranked teams in the five-team SEC East Division race where the order of finish did not change from 2021. Mabel-Canton (14-0 SEC) claimed a 25th straight championship with Spring Grove (12-2) the runner-up for the sixth time in the last seven years. The Lions have finished among the top half (second or third place) during the regular season race for the past 16 seasons.
Both gymnasiums were packed with fans for the two Lions-versus-Cougars matches. On both occasions, Spring Grove took the first set with Mabel-Canton coming back to win the final three. The Lions finished in second place due to a season sweep of third-place Lanesboro (10-4 SEC), 3-0 and 3-1. Houston (7-7) again finished fourth and Schaeffer Academy (1-13) fifth. And also as in the previous season, Spring Grove had straight-set, 3-0 victories against both the West Division champion Grand Meadow and West runner-up LeRoy-Ostrander.
In the last five complete seasons (2020 was shortened by the pandemic), Spring Grove has four times achieved 20 wins plus a 19-win season, all guided by head coach Kelsey (Anderson) Morken, a former two-time All-SEC honoree at Spring Grove. It was a sixth consecutive winning record, and considering a pair of break-even .500 campaigns, it has been 14 years since the Lions have finished below .500. The program was strong throughout with former Lion players, Taylor Elton and Lauren (Arneson) Solum, coaching the B-team through a highly successful 13-1 season (splitting with Mabel-Canton) while the C-team/freshmen went 10-2-1.
Much of the overall success was due to production near the net, where the girls had a hitting efficiency of 22%, a significant step up from the previous year’s 17%. There were more than three times as many kills (1,008 kills) as attacking errors (353). The Lions served 92.9%, slightly below the previous year’s 93.6 %.
There was considerable experience in 2022 with the Lions returning five of the nine-player rotation from 2021, including all three all-conference performers and an honorable mention. However, the season’s success would not have been possible without the outstanding play from the new regulars, who will be next year’s veterans. Again, five of this year’s nine-player rotation retain eligibility for 2023, but three of the four All-SEC honorees will pick up diplomas. However, the younger Lions, who enjoyed so much B-team success, are eager for their opportunity in the varsity spotlight.
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Spring Grove Volleyball 2021
28 wins, 5 losses (12-2 SEC)
W at Southland 3-0
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 3-0
W at Schaffer Academy 3-0
W at Lanesboro 3-0
W vs. Houston 3-0
W at Glenville-Emmons 3-0
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Waukon Tournament
W vs. Postville, Iowa 2-0
W vs. Crestwood, Iowa 2-0
W vs. (Lansing) Kee, Iowa 2-0
W vs. MFL/MarMac, Iowa 2-0
W vs. Waukon, Iowa 2-0
W vs. Crestwood, Iowa 2-0
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L vs. Mabel-Canton 1-3
W vs. Grand Meadow 3-0
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09/23-24 at Class A Showcase, Burnsville
L vs. Minneota 0-2
L vs. GBMR 1-2
W vs. Floodwood 2-0
W vs. Cleveland 2-0
W vs. Fillmore Central 2-0
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W vs. Schaeffer Academy 3-0
W vs. Lanesboro 3-1
W at Kingsland 3-0
W at Houston 3-0
L at Mabel-Canton 1-3
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10/15 at Goodhue Tournament
W vs Hayfield 2-0
W vs. Houston 2-0
W vs. Medford 2-0
W vs. Lake City 2-0
W vs. Alden-Conger 2-0
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W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 3-0
SECTION 1A TOURNAMENT – #4 seed
W vs. #13 Houston 3-0
W vs. #5 Fillmore Central 3-2
L vs. #1 Bethlehem Academy 1-3
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B-team Volleyball 2021
13 wins, 1 loss
W at Southland 2-0 (25-13, 25-18)
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 2-0 (25-7, 25-7)
W at Schaeffer Academy 2-0 (25-4, 25-7)
W at Lanesboro 2-0 (25-11, 25-16)
W vs. Houston 2-0 (25-4, 25-9)
W at Glenville-Emmons 2-0 (25-12, 25-8)
W vs. Mabel-Canton 2-0 (25-15, 25-16)
W vs. Grand Meadow 2-0 (25-7, 25-21)
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 2-0 (25-14, 25-8)
W vs. Lanesboro 2-0 (25-9, 25-15)
W at Kingsland 2-0 (25-6, 25-6)
W at Houston 2-0 (25-9, 25-17)
L at Mabel-Canton 1-2 (21-25, 25-19, 12-15)
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 2-0 (25-10, 25-11)
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C-team (freshman) Volleyball 2021
10 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie
L at Southland 1-2 (21-25, 25-14, 12-15)
W vs. Southland 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 15-8)
W vs. Caledonia 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 15-13)
W vs. Fillmore Central 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 15-9)
W at Lanesboro 2-0 (25-18, 25-20)
W vs. Houston 2-0 (25-4, 25-7)
L vs. Mabel-Canton 0-2 (20-25, 14-25)
W vs. Grand Meadow 2-0 (25-22, 25-19)
W vs. Lanesboro 2-1 (24-26, 25-18, 15-10)
W at Kingsland 2-0 (26-24, 25-18)
W at Houston 1-0 (25-7)
T at Mabel-Canton 1-1 (21-25, 28-26)
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 2-0 (25-12, 21-15)
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