MFL MarMac volleyball team records 3-4 week
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac volleyball team upped its record to 10-9 last week, losing a conference match-up at North Fayette Valley but going 3-3 in a weekend tournament at Decorah.
The Bulldogs headed to NFV on Sept. 23, falling 3-1. The TigerHawks took the first two sets, 25-12 and 25-17, before MFL MarMac claimed a 25-21 advantage in the third. NFV closed out the game in set four, winning 25-21.
The TigerHawks made over 40 more kill attempts in the match, hitting 39 compared to MFL MarMac’s 23. Riley Moreland and Grace Anderson had six each for the Bulldogs, while Brooke Gillitzer tallied five and Karli Tilson four. Moreland and Lakota Morrissey tied for a team-high nine assists.
Defensively, MFL MarMac had six blocks—all of which came from Moreland. Miranda Lang led the team with 10 digs, Kadence Pape racked up five and Moreland four.
From the serving line, the Bulldogs made just 83.6 percent of their attempts, compared to a nearly 95 percent clip by NFV. Pape was a perfect 7-7 in the game, while Lang hit 13 of 14 shots, including an ace. Morrissey was nearly perfect, at 10-11, and Moreland was 9-10 with an ace. Gillitzer sank seven of 11 attempts and earned two aces.
On Sept. 25, MFL MarMac competed in a tournament at Decorah, going 3-3 with wins over Riceville and Postville (twice) and losses to Jesup, South Winneshiek and Central.
The Bulldogs started the tournament with Jesup, falling 2-0 by scores of 21-10 and 21-8. Moreland continued to lead the team in kills, with three, followed by Tilson and Hailee Corlett with one apiece. Morrissey totaled three assists and Moreland had one.
MFL MarMac didn’t record any blocks in this match-up, but Lang was a force in the back row, digging seven balls. Pape, Moreland and Kaitlin Picha all had two.
The team’s serve efficiency improved to 95.5 percent, including a perfect 4-4 game from Pape and 3-3 efforts by Gillitzer, Picha and Moreland. Lang hit six of seven attempts.
The Bulldogs won their next game 2-1 over Riceville, bouncing back from a 21-19 opening set loss with 22-20 and 15-9 scores. The team racked up 19 kills—eight from Moreland and six from Anderson, while Tilson added three. Morrissey and Moreland each had seven assists.
Lang continued to lead MFL MarMac defensively, recording 12 of the team’s 35 digs. Pape snagged seven and Moreland six.
MFL MarMac’s serve efficiency took a tumble in this game, down to 77.4 percent, but the team made up for it with four aces. Two came from Picha, who was 9-12, and Moreland had one with a 10-14 effort. Morrissey was 4-5 with an ace, while Lang completed 10 of 12 attempts and Pape was a perfect 5-5.
The Bulldogs faced South Winn next, losing 2-0 via scores of 21-13 and 21-14. Moreland secured six of the team’s nine kills, Anderson picked up two and Tilson one. Of nine MFL MarMac assists, Morrissey accounted for five, Moreland three and Carlie Jones one.
Anderson recorded the team’s lone block in the game. Lang and Pape rounded out the defensive effort with nine and five digs, respectively.
From the serving line, Moreland was 6-6 and one of three Bulldogs with a perfect game. Pape made all four of her attempts and Picha was 3-3.
The Bulldogs responded to that loss with two straight set wins against Postville. They took the first game by scores of 21-10 and 21-12 and the second by matching 21-12 finals.
Moreland’s string of dominance at the net continued in the first game, as she totaled a team-high seven kills. Gillitzer added four and Tilson two. Morrissey was tops in assists, with eight.
In the digs category, Lang and Pape each notched four, while Moreland had three.
Lang also had a stellar serving game, with seven of eight successful serves falling for aces. Pape was 4-4, Picha 4-5 and Moreland 3-4 with an ace.
In the second game against the Pirates, MFL MarMac’s kill statistics were more spread out, with two apiece for Tilson and Anderson while four others—Moreland, Gillitzer, Jones and Rose Koehn—each earned one. Ashley Shaw picked up five assists and Moreland had three.
Of the team’s 10 digs, Lang was responsible for half of them. Pape snagged two and Gillitzer, Picha and Jones all had one.
Lang also continued to dominate at the serving line, hitting eight of 12 attempts for three aces. Moreland was a perfect 7-7 and Picha made all four of her serves, including an ace.
Unfortunately, MFL MarMac couldn’t keep that momentum going into the final game of the tournament, losing 2-0 to Central. The Warriors took the opening set 21-15, then cruised to a 25-13 advantage in the second.
Anderson led the Bulldog effort with five kills, followed by Moreland with three and Gillitzer with one. Shaw picked up a team-high three assists, while Moreland, Gillitzer and Jones all tallied two.
Defensively, the five kills from both Lang and Moreland were tops on the team, and Moreland and Anderson each earned a block.
The team, which had a combined 82.1 percent serve efficiency, had only one ace in the loss. It was, not surprisingly, from Lang, who completed four of six tries. Shaw made all four of her attempts, Moreland was 6-8 and Picha 4-5.
