Volleyball wins Homecoming match

by Ashley Hertwig

With a lot of pressure on them to win the Homecoming game, the Irish volleyball team was shaking off the nerves as they stepped onto the court against the Holdingford Huskers on Thursday, October 7.

However, being nervous didn’t seem to hurt the Irish in the first game. They were hot on the court right off the bat, taking the lead and keeping it. With a score of 25-18, Maple Lake won game one.

Game two began just like game one, with the Irish taking a big lead, but this time, the Huskers caught up. Seeing that Holdingford was in close range of the win, the Irish stepped up and got the lead back. The game came down to the final serves, and the Irish prevailed with a score of 27-25.

After a very close second game, Maple Lake knew they had to play better defense if they wanted to win their Homecoming game.

“A big group of guys painted themselves green, and seeing how they supported us, kept us really pumped up,” said Lexi Pingel.

The Irish won game three with a score of 25-18, and set the standard that this year’s Homecoming would be a winning one.

Serv. Kills SA Digs

B. Decker 9/11 5 32 6

L. Pingel 14/16 – – 16

J. Holm – 3 1 1

R. Latour 2/3 – – –

D. Hudek – 4 – 2

S. Knott 8/8 9 – 4

E. Bryant – – – –

S. Rachel 7/8 15 – 11

C. Knott 9/11 – – 3

S. Knudsen 4/4 – – 3

J. Puncochar – 7 – 2

Irish at Mora Tournament

The morning after the Homecoming football game and dance, the Irish had to wake up at the crack of dawn to travel to Mora for a tournament on Saturday, October 9.

Their first match was against Carlton. The Irish pushed through the fact that it was early in the morning and won the first game 25-21.

Then in game two, they played very well, keeping the ball off the floor at all costs and beat Carlton 25-16.

Feeling pretty good about their first match, the Irish moved on to play Pillager. With Pillager’s head coach being the cousin of Maple Lake’s head coach, Marty Kiebel, there was a little bit of rivalry going on.

The Irish took an early lead, but once Pillager got warmed up, the Irish saw what a strong defense they had. Although their defense was well-played, the Irish still managed to outplay Pillager and won the first game 25-16.

In game two, Pillager continued to make good plays and the game got down to the final serves, with the Irish taking a W for the match, as they won the second game 25-23.

The Irish were on a hot streak at the tournament, and up next on the bracket was Hudson. Maple Lake was making good passes, good hits and played well all around. They won the first game 25-19.

Hudson stepped up in the second game, challenging the Irish a bit, but the girls stayed strong and won the game 25-22.

The last match of the tournament, the Irish faced Mora. Mora started the touch, and ended the game even tougher. With their strong serves and perfect blocks, the Irish struggled to score against them. The Irish lost the first game 9-25.

Frustrated with their loss in the first game, the Irish found it hard to bounce back in game two. Maple Lake had trouble passing, while Mora continued to play well. The Irish stayed closer in this game, but Mora still pulled off an 18-25 win over the Irish.

The Irish went 93% for their serves as a team. Brooke Decker led the team in set assists with a total of 66 over the tournament. Shelby Rachel had the most kills with 24, and Lexi Pingel made an impressive 33 digs during the tournament.

The Irish played Zimmerman on Tuesday, October, 12, and will travel to Pierz on Thursday, October 14.

Serv. Kills SA Digs

B. Decker 23/26 7 66 18

L. Pingel 25/25 – 1 33

R. Latour 9/9 – – 9

D. Hudek – 9 – 2

S. Knott 22/24 17 – 2

E. Bryant – 3 1 2

S. Rachel 31/33 24 – 24

C. Knott 18/21 – – 12

S. Knudsen 7/7 – – 8

J. Puncochar – 19 – 8