BV takes marathon match over Mitchell
By:
Jill Meier, Journal editor
Brandon Valley’s Sept. 8 Eastern South Dakota Conference match at Mitchell (1-2) was a true nail-biter.
The marathon match went five sets, with the Lynx coming away with the 3-2 victory. BV (3-2) defeated the Kernels 21-25, 26-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-8.
“That was an intense match – actually all of the levels were,” said BV head coach Marette Grage.
For the second consecutive ESD outing, BV’s freshmen A and B teams, sophomore, junior varsity and the varsity all swept their opponent. With all levels playing extended matches, the varsity didn’t get underway until 7:30 p.m. Fans, however, got their money’s worth.
“They are a very scrappy team and were picking up everything,” Grage said.
After going head-to-head with the Kernels through the first four sets, BV built a 9-7 lead and then left Mitchell in the dust as they capped off the night with the 15-8 victory.
The Kernels won the first and fourth sets, with the opening set featuring six ties and three lead changes. The momentum was on Mitchell’s side in the second set. With the 24-22 score in Mitchell’s favor, BV rattled off the next four consecutive points to even the set count at 1-all.
BV continued to feed off the momentum they built in the second set victory and soon found themselves in the driver’s seat by leading 19-13. Mitchell rallied to take a 21-20 lead before both squads traded the lead two more times along with being tied on four other occasions before the Lynx snagged the 25-23 win.
The fourth set was equally competitive. Tied 11 times, Mitchell got three timely kills to force a fifth and deciding set, which kept BV undefeated in ESD play.
“They were all really close sets and it was a good experience for us to play a five-set match and claim the victory,” Coach Grage said..
A trio of Lady Lynx kept the Kernels on their heels behind a combined 29 kills. Brooklyn Grage led the attack with 11, while Taylor Stemen and Morgan Hunt both put down nine.
Stemen was also a leader in the digs department, along with teammates Abby Finch and Liz Kopp. The trio all had 24 digs to their credit.
Josie Wickersham, Liz Kopp and Kazi Ellingson all recorded two solo blocks.
Kopp and Jenna Stengel provided 18 and 28 assists, respectively, while Grage and Stengel both served up a trio of aces in the victory.
Cameryn Logan paced Mitchell’s attack with 19 kills.
Lizzie Tyler added 15 kills and 10 digs, while Kaspen Alm put down seven kills. Katy Sebert handed out 37 assists and added 10 digs. Sarah Sebert finished with 41 digs.
The varsity team wasn’t the only program to come away with a “W.” BV’s junior varsity, sophomore and freshman B teams each chiseled out 2-1 victories, while the freshman A squad handled the Kernels by a 2-0 margin.
The Lynx hope to keep the momentum going next week when they face two area powerhouses. Harrisburg travels to Brandon on Sept. 15 and the Lady Lynx host top-seeded O’Gorman Thursday. Both matches get underway at 7 p.m.
