Photo by Paul Trende
Spring Grove upended next-door rival and perennial Class A volleyball juggernaut Mabel-Canton 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-19). It had been eight years and 19 matches since the Lions had defeated the Cougars in the two-set championship match at the 2018 Mabel-Canton Classic. It has been 30 years (1996) since the Grove girls had downed the Cougars in a best-of-five-set match. Until this Lion win, Mabel-Canton had taken 79 of the previous 80 matches during those 30 years and still leads all-time, 94 to 37. This result not only ended the Cougars’ incredible 231-conference-match winning streak, which dated to 2009 (LeRoy-Ostrander), but also lifted the Lions (17-9 overall) into a tie with M-C (20-8-1) atop the SEC East Division, each with a 12-1 league record with one SEC match remaining. The Lions’ only conference loss came at home versus the then state-ranked Cougars. In those upcoming SEC finales, Lonnie Morken’s Cougars pursue a 29th consecutive conference crown (starting in 1998), while the often runner-up, Kelsey Morken’s Lions, seek their first league championship in 42 years (1984). After a weak 9% hitting efficiency during the earlier home setback against the Cougars, SG attacked with 21% efficiency (43 kills, 17 errors) in the road rematch. In this year’s series, both teams attacked better on the road than at home. M-C slipped from the earlier .327 efficiency (46 kills, 13 errors) at Spring Grove, to a season-low 17% (27 kills, 12 errors) in this rematch. The Lions served 95% with 10 aces and four misfires, while the Cougars had far less success at 87%, with only four aces and seven errant serves. Five different Grove girls scored with a service ace. Eighth grader Kallyn Morken served 14 times (100%) with 5 aces; senior libero teammate Izabel Kaufmann served 16 times (100%) with a pair of instant winners. Brinley Middendorf scored with a team-high 13 kills. Morken added 9 kills. Most statistically efficient (67%) was Lauren Hammel who put away 8 kills on only 12 attacks with no errors. Jada Strinmoen (29%) scored 5 times on 14 attacks. Six different Lions were credited with assists. In the air with Claire, freshman Claire Sherburne supplied 27 assists plus 4 kills. Freshman Braylee Stortz led Cougar hitters with a match-most 15 kills and a match-high two solo blocks, while senior Ella Halverson scored with 8 kills. The duo had 32 combined kills the first match. Freshman Gwenyth Rein aired up 20 set assists. Mabel-Canton held an advantage with three scoring blocks to one for SG. Four Lions defended with double-digit digs, including 19 saves by Morken, 17 from Kaufmann, 14 by Sherburne and 11 from Strinmoen, along with 6 by Addison Rask. For the Cougars, Rein had 10 digs, libero Lauren Burke 9, and Stortz 9. Mabel-Canton led only during the first set. An 11-7 Cougar lead, however, was wiped away with an 8-0 Spring Grove run (with Kaufmann serving seven points). The home team would not lead again, out-scored 68-43 the rest of the match. Set two was close at 9-7 before the Lions roared away with a 7-1 spurt. Set three was knotted at 1-1 before the Lions again separated with an early four-point run and soon followed with a 6-1 run, during which Morken served four consecutive aces. Grove seemed comfortable with a 17-7 lead, but the Cougars would not go quietly and ran off seven straight points to get back within three at 17-14. From there, the teams traded kills and service errors until it ended with a Middendorf kill. The Lions and their many exuberant supporters celebrated a historic win they will not forget. Amazing but true, Mabel-Canton head coach Lonnie Morken and Spring Grove head coach Kelsey (Anderson) Morken are both graduates of Spring Grove, and both were faculty members while coaching volleyball at Mabel-Canton, where both have won coaching awards. Lonnie has been the Cougars’ head coach since 1994. Kelsey was the Cougars’ assistant coach and junior varsity coach in 2008 and 2009 before accepting a teaching and coaching position at Spring Grove. They are in-laws with Kelsey married to a distant cousin of Lonnie. Kelsey Morken and Lion assistant coach Lexi Thorson were both two-time All-Conference high school volleyball players, Kelsey at Spring Grove, Lexi at Mabel-Canton. Thorson is the only current assistant volleyball coach at SG who did not graduate from Spring Grove. SG also topped Houston 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-15) a night before. Sherburne (29 assists, 10 digs), Middendorf (10 kills), Rask (11 kills), Strinmoen (10 digs), Kaufmann (10 digs), Morken (8 kills, 5 digs), and Lauren Hammel (4 kills) did work. Bella Rodriguez (10 digs), Stella Keehner (7 assists, 4 digs), and Kayla Klunder (4 kills, 6 digs) led Houston. M-C swept Schaeffer Academy the same night (See “Southeast Conference Volleyball” for more).
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