Mabel-Canton had three non-tourney matches on the week, two versus county foes. The Cougars and Chatfield met for the first time in the Fillmore County Journal Sports era. M-C leading hitter Savannah Slafter just played libero (shoulder). The Cougars started slow but prevailed in a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-12, 25-15). Payton Danielson (8 kills, 22-22 serving, 5 aces, 9 digs), Dakota Delaney (8 kills), Lexi Thorson (7 kills, 6 aces), Maddy Michels (6 kills), Kenidi McCabe (31 assists), and Slafter (12 digs) led M-C. Thorson, a fourth-year starter, collected her 1,000th career dig. Kielan LaPlante (6 kills), Mollie Henry (5 kills), Belle Berg (4 kills, 11 digs), and Grace Friederichs (14 assists) led the Gophers. The Cougars then swept Lanesboro (25-6, 25-10, 25-16). McCabe (31 assists, 23-24 serving, 8 aces), Michels (8 kills), Delaney (7 kills), Thorson (6 kills, 6 digs), Danielson (5 kills, 8 digs), and Avery Davis (5 kills) led a balanced Cougar charge. M-C also beat Schaeffer Academy, and won their first two matches at the Class A Showcase (see below). They started the year 18-0.
About Paul Trende
Sports Reporter
sports@fillmorecountyjournal.com