Card volleyball: Alexandria sweeps St. Cloud Apollo, finishes 0-4 at Apple Valley Invitational

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The Alexandria volleyball team’s march through the Central Lakes Conference continued last Thursday with its fifth straight win in a 3-0 match against St. Apollo.

The Cardinals controlled things from the get-go, winning 25-14, 25-16 and 25-12. It was a win that moved them to 8-4 overall and to 6-1 in the CLC.

Alexandria once again used a balanced attack to secure the win. Emily Kuennen led the offense with seven kills, while Amanda Christianson and Dani Strater each added five. Allie Noetzelman and Nicole Canavat set them up with 12 and 11 assists, respectively.

The passing was led by Shenee’ Herd who had a team-leading 21 digs. Jenni Wild added 13. It was also a night of firsts for sophomore Liz Schultz as she added her first varsity kill and block, while fellow sophomore Amanda Haack finished with two assists.

“Last night’s win was a full team effort,” head coach Becky Schlichting said. “Once again, Herd, Wild, and [Natalie] Watkins were solid in the back row, allowing our setters to do their jobs with ease and efficiency. Jessica Burns also stepped in to provide her setters with a couple of spot-on passes.”

MATCH STATISTICS

Alexandria 3, St. Cloud Apollo 0

(25-14, 25-16, 25-12)

ALEXANDRIA – Noetzelman – 12 assists, 1 ace, 4 digs; Watkins – 5 digs, 1 ace; Adrianne Wensman – 4 kills, 3 aces, 2 digs, 2 blocks; Christianson – 5 kills, 2 digs, 3 blocks; Wild – 2 kills, 2 aces, 13 digs; Tara LeBrasseur – 2 kills; Herd – 1 kill, 1 ace, 21 digs; Haack – 2 assists; Strater – 5 kills, 1 dig; Kuennen – 7 kills; Schultz – 1 kill, 1 block; Canavati – 1 kill, 11 assists, 2 aces, 1 dig

APPLE VALLEY INVITATIONAL

It was two days of tough competition at the Apple Valley Eagle Invitational for the Cardinal volleyball team as they went 0-4 along the way.

Losses for the Cardinals came at the hands of some highly talented squads as they fell to Class AAA’s No. 1 ranked team Lakeville North, Class AA’s No. 1 ranked team Marshall, the No. 3 ranked team in Class AAA in Eagan, as well as Eastview, which received votes in the Class AAA polls.

“Although we didn’t play to the best of our abilities, there were moments where we were able to compete and hang in there with the best of the best,” said head coach Becky Schlichting. “Those are the moments we need to focus on in order to continue improving.

“The next time we see this level of competition, we will be ready.”

The Cardinal defense was led by Shaneé Herd with 45 digs and Jenni Wild with 30.

Adrianne Wensman had nine kills to pace the offense, while Amanda Christianson had five, Dani Strater three, Emily Kuennen seven, Jenni Wild seven, and Tara LeBrassuer eight. Allie Noetzelman had 18 assists and Nicole Canavati had 13. Amanda Haack added three.

“A huge positive on the weekend was to see our ever solid back row; Natalie Watkins, Jen Wild, and Shanee’ Herd put up great passes against some of the most difficult servers in the state.

The Cardinals will be hosting St. Cloud Tech tomorrow, Thursday.

APPLE VALLEY TOURNAMENT RESULTS

FRIDAY

Marshall 25-25, Alexandria 19-17

Lakeville North 25-25, Alexandria 11-6

SATURDAY

Eastview 25-25, Alexandria 14-13

Eagan 25-25, Alexandria 11-16

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, volleyball