It was odd. It was the first high school volleyball match of the year, on October 8. Fans weren’t supposed to be able to attend, then that got annulled the afternoon of the game. So in Grand Meadow, in front of those faithful who were related to the players and thus had the privilege to witness, strong SEC squads, the Larks and Lanesboro, went head-to-head. What wasn’t odd was that the match went five sets, as the Burros (10-4, 16-14) and GM (12-2, 22-12) both won double-digit SEC matches last season and finished with winning records. Game one had five ties up to 10-10. GM took control with a 5-0 run (15-10). Lanesboro got to down one (15-14), but GM then went 4-0 (19-14). With senior Hailey Hindt amassing seven kills in the set, the Larks won 25-16. Game two had GM lead early, Lanesboro led in the middle, only for a tie at 22. The Burros scored three of the last four points (two on GM errors). The last point was a Sydney Taylor kill, set up by junior Ella Cambern. In a rarity, with the last point of a close match, Lanesboro’s junior setter hit 1,000 career set assists. The Burros evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 win. GM rallied in game three. Hindt, the Larks top returning hitter, was again strong. She amassed five kills in the game. Sue Wilson’s group never trailed, though there were two ties and Lanesboro was within one six times (mostly early). Leading 20-18, GM scored five of the last six points for the 25-19 win, the 2-1 lead. But amidst that set, Lanesboro got 6’0” sophomore hitter Kaci Ruen going. She had five kills, and that was an omen. Lanesboro led the early part of game three, but it was tied at 17. Down the stretch, Ruen had a trio of kills, and GM five errors. With Ruen getting seven kills in the set, the Burros tied the match at 2-2 via a 25-21 win. Game five was then all Lanesboro, led by Ruen. She had five kills and a block in the set. Lanesboro ended on an 8-0 run, easily the longest of the match, to post a 15-5 win. They got the 3-2 season-opening victory (16-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 15-5). Ruen (19 kills, 8 digs, 6 blks) and steady senior Sydney Taylor (20 kills, 10 digs, 21-21 serving, 6 aces) were a strong one-two punch, set up by new 1,000-assist girl Cambern (37 assists, 12 digs). Malia Tessum (24 digs) and Jessie Schreiber (6 kills, 13 digs, 4 aces) helped. Hailey Hindt was GM’s big hitter (17 kills). No other Lark topped five kills. Madison Hindt (14 assists), Emma Grafe (9 assists, 4 blks), and Sydney Cotton (17 digs) helped. It was Lanesboro’s first win over GM since 2016 (three regular season matches, three tourney matches).
Leave a Reply