No. 4 seed Spring Grove stayed with top seed Bethlehem Academy for most of the section semi-final match on Nov. 3 at Rochester. The Lions held a lead in all four sets with two sets going into extended play. After the heartbreak of falling short 29-27 in set one, followed by another competitive 25-20 setback in set two, the Lions survived three match points to take set three, 26-24. In set four, Spring Grove had too many errant attacks while the Cardinals hit really well to win, 25-16.
Photos by Lee Epps
The final 3-1 verdict made it two straight seasons in which No. 4 seed Spring Grove eliminated No. 5 Fillmore Central in the Section 1A quarterfinals before falling in the semi-finals to No. 1 seed Bethlehem Academy. However, this year it was also a top-10, state-ranked affair between the state-ranked No. 4 Cardinals and the No. 9-ranked Lions. Spring Grove closed with a 28-5 record, the most wins in program history, while the Cardinals advanced at 20-10.
The Lions served 100%, serving 90 times without error (4 aces), while the Cards (92%, 4 aces) had eight service errors. But SG did not attack well enough to win with 8% hitting efficiency to the Cardinals’ 18%. Section 1A Coach of the Year, Spring Grove’s Kelsey Morken, told the Rochester Post Bulletin, “(FBA) was able to minimize their errors better than we did. Their error management was the difference.” BA finished with four more kills (57-53), three more scoring blocks (7-3) and 10 fewer overall errors (32-42).
Senior Addyson McHugh closed her high school volleyball career with 21 kills, 2 block assists and an ace serve while serving 18 for 18. Senior Maggie Lile had 38 digs, an ace serve (18 for 18) along with 3 kills and 6 assists from her libero position. Sophomore setter Kendal VanMinsel supplied 36 assists to go with 4 kills, a block assist and 24 digs. Senior Kenadee Gerard added 8 kills. Senior Lydia Solum had the highest hitting efficiency (17%) with 6 kills along with a solo block and 7 digs while also serving 18 for 18.
The Lions trailed early in the first set, which would be tied a dozen times. Grove led 27-26 before BA scored the final three points with a kill, a Lion attack error and an ace block. Blocking was critical as the teams combined for 7 of the match’s 11 blocks in this set (SG 3 blocks, BA 4).
Set two was tied 11 times, finally at 20-20 with a McHugh kill. But the Cards scored the final five points with 3 kills and a pair of Lion attack errors.
That closing script would be flipped in set three in which SG led most of the way before falling behind at 19-20. The match appeared almost over as BA served with three match points at 24-21. But the Lions staved off elimination by taking the final five points with two BA hitting errors and three SG kills from McHugh, Solum and McHugh again.
The Grove girls then scored the first three points of set four (McHugh kill, Lile ace serve), but a 9-8 Lion lead was suddenly swept away with an 8-to-1 Cardinal surge. After three early errant attacks, BA scored 14 kills without error on the way to a 25-16 win.
Match Totals
Earned Points: SG 61 (53K, 4B, 4A); BA 68 (57K, 7B, 4A)
Total Errors: SG 42, BA 32
Attacks: SG 225, BA 209
Kills/Errors: SG 53/32, BA 57/20
Hitting Efficiency: SG 9%, BA 18%
Ace Blocks: SG 4, BA 7
Serving: SG 100% (90-90), BA 92% (94-102)
Aces/Errors: SG 4/0, BA 4/8
Digs: SG 112, BA 115
INDIVIDUALS
Digs 112: Maggie Lile 38, Kendal VanMinsel 24, Sydney Holland 16, Addyson McHugh 12, Kenadee Gerard 7, Lydia Solum 7, Izabel Kaufmann 5, Katelyn Kraus 2, Joelle Halverson 1
Set Assists 44: Kendal VanMinsel 36, Maggie Lile 6, Katelyn Kraus 1, Joelle Halverson 1
Kills 53: Addyson McHugh 21, Joelle Halverson 8, Kenadee Gerard 8, Lydia Solum 6, Kendal VanMinsel 4, Maggie Lile 3, Katelyn Kraus 3
Hitting efficiency (K-E/att) 9%: Lydia Solum 17% (6-3/18); Maggie Lile 17% (3-1/12); Kendal VanMinsel 13% (4-1/23);Addyson McHugh 12% (21-13/67); Katelyn Kraus 6% (3-2/18); Joelle Halverson 3% (8-5/33); Kenadee Gerard 2% (8-7/53); Sydney Holland 0% (0-0/1)
Ace Blocks 4: Lydia Solum 1.0 (1 solo); Addyson McHugh 1.0 (2 assists); Katelyn Kraus 0.5 (1 assist); Kenadee Gerard 0.5 (1 assist); Kendal VanMinsel 0.5 (1 assist); Joelle Halverson 0.5 (1 assist)
Service Aces 4: Addyson McHugh 2, Maggie Lile 1, Kendal VanMinsel 1
Serving 100% (90-90): Maggie Lile 100% (18-18). Addyson McHugh 100% (18-18), Lydia Solum 100% (18-18), Kendal VanMinsel 100% (16-16), Kenadee Gerard 100% (10-10), Sydney Holland 100% (10-10)
Scoring 61: Addyson McHugh 24.0 (21K, 1B, 2A); Joelle Halverson 8.5 (8K, 0.5 B); Kenadee Gerard 8.5 (8K, 0.5 B); Lydia Solum 7.0 (6K, 1B); Kendal VanMinsel 5.5 (4K, 0.5 B,1A); Maggie Lile 4.0 (3K, 1A); Katelyn Kraus 3.5 (3K, 0.5 B)
————————————
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
———–
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
—————————–
L vs. Mabel-Canton 1-3
W vs. Grand Meadow 3-0
———————————-
at Class A Showcase, Burnsville
L vs. Minneota 0-2
L vs. BGMR 1-2
W vs. Floodwood 2-0
W vs. Cleveland 2-0
W vs. Fillmore Central 2-0
————————————–
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 0-3
———————————————
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
—————————————
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
Leave a Reply