BV battles to finish against three opponents in opening week
By:
Jill Meier, Journal editor
Jill Meier/BV Journal
Jenna Stengel sets up the ball for a kill for Liz Kopp (9) during non-conference action against Sioux Falls Christian on Saturday in Brandon.
Despite starting their season with one victory out of three matches last week, Brandon Valley volleyball coach Marette Grage said her team continues to get better and better. The Lady Lynx opened the season with a three-set road loss to Sioux Falls Washington, a 3-0 victory over visiting Spearfish, and a 3-1 setback to Sioux Falls Christian.
BV 1, SFC 3
Saturday afternoon’s tilt between Class AA Brandon Valley and Class A Sioux Falls Christian was a battle right down to the final serve. Although the Chargers dealt the Lynx 25-18 and 25-19 losses in the first two sets, BV charged back to win the third set 25-12. SFC closed out the match with the deciding 25-20 fourth set.
“To come back and come back strong, I thought we did an amazing job on defense tonight,” said Lynx head coach Marette Grage. “We were digging up balls that I haven’t seen our team do before against an aggressive team like that, so, we matched them in defense. As the game went on, we built on our defense and were reading them better.”
That was evident in the long rallies between the two teams and BV’s ability to better place the ball along with keying in on SFC’s hitting tendencies.
“I just thought we played so good. I know we came up short but I saw some really good things that I’m happy with,” Grage said. “I thought our serve receive was amazing today, really, really good serve receive.”
BV’s net attack was guided by Brooklyn Grage and Taylor Stemen, both who had 10 kills to their credit. Kazi Ellingson aided with eight kills.
Stemen was also a force in BV’s back row and at the serving line, where she came up with 22 digs and two ace serves, respectively.
Abby Finch had 17 digs in the match, and Lizzi Kopp had four blocks and 18 set assists. Jenna Stengel also chipped 18 assists.
For the 2-0 Chargers, Abby Glanzer had 19 kills, 18 digs and two ace serves.
Katie Van Egdom recorded nine kills and 13 digs, and Lavin Maddox added 13 digs to the stats. Kelsi Heard put up 38 set assists, while Brooklyn Pater and Sydney Tims both had three blocks in the non-conference victory.
In the underclassmen matches, the Lynx JV lost 2-0, while the freshman A team won in three, with the final set going down to the wire, 19-17.
BV 3, Spearfish 0
The Lynx proved to be the more superior of the two teams on the court for Friday’s Senior Night, as BV rolled over the Spartans 25-14, 25-6, 25-21.
“We played very well,” is how Coach Grage summed up the three-set victory. “We got some of our JV players in on the third set, so gave them a bit of varsity experience.”
Grage said they used the match to fine tune their routes and plays.
The quick match resulted in eight kills for both Brooklyn Grage and Stemen, and a half-dozen by Ellingson. Stengel also provided 16 assists.
Defensively, Morgan Hunt led the Lynx with two solo blocks.
Grage and Stemen were also factors in BV’s back row, coming up with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Stemen had three ace serves and Lizzie Kopp was credited with a pair of aces.
BV’s junior varsity and sophomore teams both came away with 2-0 victories.
BV 0, SFW 3
Although BV’s season-opener at Sioux Falls Washington resulted in a 3-0 loss, Coach Grage said her team played well against a solid program.
“We had some great matches to get us ready and to let us know where we need to improve,” she said. “This was another good match, but we’ve improved since that match.”
Washington took the nip-and-tuck battle 25-22, 25-20, 25-23.
Brooklyn Grage and Stemen made their court presence known. Grage was responsible for 10 kills and two ace serves, while Stemen knocked down a half-dozen kills, had 14 digs and two solo blocks. Finch produced nine digs, while Hunt had one solo and two assisted blocks. Stengel and Kopp were responsible for 11 and nine assists, respectively. Stengel also had two ace serves to her credit.
For the Warriers, Ellie Walker and Sydni Schetnan had 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Katy Richardson carded 21 digs and 29 assists, while Jadyn Schetnan had 17 digs.
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda was the team’s blocking leader with three, and Ellie Walker had four ace serves.
BV’s freshman A team won in two games, while the freshman B squad lost in two. The Lady Lynx JV won took the victory in two games and BV’s sophomore team defeated the Warriors all three games.
