Volleyball: Larks Down L-O in Five Sets in Key SEC-West Matchup

Grand Meadow volleyball has won the last seven SEC-West titles. LeRoy-Ostrander took second place last year and entered the teams’ first matchup this year leading (4-1, 7-2) the Larks (3-2, 6-7) in the standings. The teams played a spirited affair that went the distance. The Cardinals were most determined team in game one. On top of winning, L-O had the priority of getting senior setter Jenna Olson her 1,000th career assist. Benita Nolt helped, scoring seven kills. Olson notched 11 assists, enough to get her milestone. L-O cruised to a 25-14 win. The Larks then led the entirety of game two. Trailing 24-19, L-O staved off three set points but fell 25-22. GM was again better in set three, leading the duration for a 25-16 win and a 2-1 lead. But L-O rallied in game four. Kaci McKenzie did some good work right around the turning point of the set, notching a couple kills and authoring a five-point service session. The Cardinals went from down 14-12 to up 18-14 with a 6-0 run. It was enough to lead them to a 25-19 win. In the deciding set, GM’s Haylie Paul started with two aces in the first four points. Rylee Schaufler then authored a two ace, six-point service session. L-O could not get a pass. GM jumped out 11-1 and coasted to a 15-7 win. They downed L-O 3-2 (14-25, 25-22, 25-16, 19-25, 15-7). GM had 15 aces to the Cardinals’ seven. Lauren Queensland (12 kills, 21 digs), Paul (7 kills, 17-19 serving, 5 aces, 4 total blks), Hallie Hendrickson (28 assists, 10 digs, 3 aces), and Schaufler (10 assists, 10 digs, 18-20 serving, 3 aces) did the biggest work. Lexy Foster (12 kills), Cheyenne Bakken (20 digs), and Kendall Jack (9 kills) helped. L-O was led by Nolt’s big game (21 kills, 23 digs), Olson (48 assists, 8 digs), and Brooke Jasper (12 kills, 12 digs). McKenzie (10 kills, 5 total blks), Keira Lewison (12 digs), Maria Almaraz-Nolt (12 digs, 4 aces), and Maddi Huntley (10 digs) helped. GM (4-2, 7-7) and L-O (4-2, 9-6) are now tied atop the SEC-West ahead of Southland (3-3, 3-3). Olson’s 48 assists is a career high.