Volleyball: Arrows go 1-2 at tourney, sweep Comets

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Ashby went 1-2 at the Wheaton volleyball tournament Saturday, falling to Rosholt and Wheaton 2-0, but defeating Hankinson 2-1.

“The Arrows were matched up first against a very sound Rosholt team,” said head coach Brenda Johnson. “They were good servers and had a very consistent attack. it was enough to keep the girls on their heels and confused for most of the match. Our court movement isn’t quite there yet.

“In the second match in pool play, the Arrows got things going offensively, and this gave everyone on our side of the net the confidence we needed to pull out the third and deciding set.

“In match three, the girls were against a very talented Wheaton team,” she said. “They are loaded in all areas of the floor and showed why they are going to be one of the teams at playoff time that we all will be watching.

“For the day, the Arrows were disappointed with going home with only one win, but they learned a lot from their opponents and will use this experience as a way to improve.”

Ashby finished the day serving 92 percent on 102-111 attempts and had 32 set assists.

Meg Roley and Bailey Funkhouser led the attack with 16 and 12 kills behind the effort of libero Amber Sundal, who led with 15. She also had 46 digs.

ASHBY SWEEPS HILLCREST

The Ashby volleyball team won its Little Eight Conference opener last Thursday with a sweep of Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.

The Arrows bounced back from a loss to West Central Area a couple nights before to take game one against the Comets 25-16. They didn’t look back from there, winning 25-9 in the second and 25-12 in the third to put the match away.

“I was very proud of the girls tonight,” head coach Brenda Johnson said. “After losing their match to WCA, the team came to practice on Wednesday determined to work hard. We pushed them on Wednesday and they were tired from the long, hot match on Tuesday, but as a team we went over several aspects of our game and this team did what all coaches want. They carried over what we did in practice to the game.”

The Arrows used a strong night from the serving line to lead the way. Cassandra Jordan was 21-of-21 serving with 17 points and five aces. Paige Nelson went 13-of-14 with 10 points and four aces and Meg Roley was 12-for-12 with nine points and three aces. As a team, Ashby served 67-of-71.

Bailey Funkhouser led the offense with nine kills and Nelson and Roley finished with six and five, respectively.

“Amber Sundal was all over the floor tonight as Libero,” Johnson said. “She was really on to Hillcrest hitters and made it very hard for them to find a hole on the floor.”

MATCH STATISTICS

Ashby 3, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 0

(25-16, 25-9, 25-12)

ASHBY – Jordan – 21-21 serving, 17 points, 5 aces; Nelson – 13-14 serving, 10 points, 4 aces, 6 kills; Roley – 12-12 serving, 9 points, 3 aces, 5 kills; Funkhouser – 9 kills; Sundal, Madison VanSanten, Abbigail Ras – 16 digs combined

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