Silver Hawks overcome slow start, North Star
As expected, third-ranked Lincoln Southwest swept unranked Lincoln North Star in three sets Thursday night.
But the season-opening volleyball victory didn’t come easy as the Silver Hawks had to come from behind in the first and third sets on their way to a 25-22, 25-20, 26-24 victory on North Star’s home court.
“North Star played great defense, they kept the ball alive several times when I thought we had it down,” Southwest coach Mary Schropfer said. “(North Star coach) Kristi (Nelson-Hitz) had them ready to go. Fortunately, we responded when we had to.”
The Hawks wiped out a 15-9 first-set deficit and needed a late run in the third set to overcome a 23-22 Navigators lead. Drake recruit Stacie Hansen had two of her match-high 12 kills at the end of set 1. Later, she moved Southwest to match point with a left-side kill that put the Hawks up 25-24. A North Star net violation ended it.
Six North Star unforced errors early in the second set allowed Southwest to jump to a 10-6 lead it never relinquished.
Hansen, a 6-foot-1 senior, didn’t serve a year ago, but she used an effective jump serve Thursday night to rack up six aces. She also registered three ace blocks.
“We were a little nervous at the beginning, but we finally composed ourselves at the end of the first set and came through,” Hansen said. “I thought we would be able to come out stronger than we did. We played well at the right time, but we have work to do.”
Whitney Mason, the 6-foot junior middle opposite Hansen, added nine kills and two blocks for the Silver Hawks. Senior setter Stephanie Daffer ignited the offense with 28 assists.
Nelson-Hitz was impressed with the Gator trio of senior middle blocker Michelle Roth, junior outside hitter Brandy Koll and Kimberly Bailey, the sophomore outside hitter and setter. Bailey smashed a team-high 10 kills, served three aces and notched 13 assists. Koll had eight kills and two service aces, while Roth registered seven kills.
Sophomore Aly Wurster also had 13 assists.
“The effort of our kids was fun to see,” said Nelson-Hitz, whose team could play Southwest again in the Silver-Star Invitational on Saturday at Southwest. “It was great to see kids who were on JVs last year play so aggressively and not back down at all.”
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.
But the season-opening volleyball victory didn’t come easy as the Silver Hawks had to come from behind in the first and third sets on their way to a 25-22, 25-20, 26-24 victory on North Star’s home court.
“North Star played great defense, they kept the ball alive several times when I thought we had it down,” Southwest coach Mary Schropfer said. “(North Star coach) Kristi (Nelson-Hitz) had them ready to go. Fortunately, we responded when we had to.”
The Hawks wiped out a 15-9 first-set deficit and needed a late run in the third set to overcome a 23-22 Navigators lead. Drake recruit Stacie Hansen had two of her match-high 12 kills at the end of set 1. Later, she moved Southwest to match point with a left-side kill that put the Hawks up 25-24. A North Star net violation ended it.
Six North Star unforced errors early in the second set allowed Southwest to jump to a 10-6 lead it never relinquished.
Hansen, a 6-foot-1 senior, didn’t serve a year ago, but she used an effective jump serve Thursday night to rack up six aces. She also registered three ace blocks.
“We were a little nervous at the beginning, but we finally composed ourselves at the end of the first set and came through,” Hansen said. “I thought we would be able to come out stronger than we did. We played well at the right time, but we have work to do.”
Whitney Mason, the 6-foot junior middle opposite Hansen, added nine kills and two blocks for the Silver Hawks. Senior setter Stephanie Daffer ignited the offense with 28 assists.
Nelson-Hitz was impressed with the Gator trio of senior middle blocker Michelle Roth, junior outside hitter Brandy Koll and Kimberly Bailey, the sophomore outside hitter and setter. Bailey smashed a team-high 10 kills, served three aces and notched 13 assists. Koll had eight kills and two service aces, while Roth registered seven kills.
Sophomore Aly Wurster also had 13 assists.
“The effort of our kids was fun to see,” said Nelson-Hitz, whose team could play Southwest again in the Silver-Star Invitational on Saturday at Southwest. “It was great to see kids who were on JVs last year play so aggressively and not back down at all.”
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.
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