1-2 week for MFL MarMac volleyball
Grace Anderson smacked six kills in the Bulldogs’ loss to Turkey Valley. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Miranda Lang has anchored MFL MarMac’s back row defense this season, including a team high nine digs against the Trojans.
Carlie Jones (left) and Riley Moreland attempt to block a Turkey Valley spike.
Brooke Gillitzer sends the ball over the net.
Kaitlin Picha was 7-10 serving, with an ace, in the loss to the Trojans.
Lakota Morrissey passes the ball for a Bulldog teammate.
Kadence Pape records one of her five digs in the Turkey Valley game.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac volleyball team went 1-2 last week, losing to Waukon and Turkey Valley but earning a thrilling five-set victory over Central.
The Bulldogs kicked off the week Sept. 27, falling to Waukon in straight sets. The first set was close, with the Indians eking out a 27-25 win, but MFL MarMac couldn’t keep up in the next two, losing 25-9 and 25-14.
MFL MarMac struggled at the net, earning just nine kills to Waukon’s 28. The Bulldogs also had just 11 assists, compared to 25 for the Indians. Riley Moreland was among the leaders in both categories, picking up two kills and five assists. Grace Anderson added three kills and Carlie Jones two, while Ashley Shaw racked up five assists.
Defensively, Moreland, Jones and Brooke Gillitzer accounted for the Bulldogs’ three blocks. Miranda Lang was tops in digs, with 14 of the team’s 26. Kadence Pape and Kaitlin Picha contributed four and three digs, respectively.
From the serving line, the Bulldogs hit 93.6 percent of their attempts. That included perfect efforts from Pape (11-11), Shaw (8-8 with two aces) and Moreland (6-6). Gillitzer completed eight of nine serves, including two aces, while Lang made six of seven.
MFL MarMac picked up its one win of the week Sept. 28, edging Central 3-2. The Bulldogs started the night well, taking the first set 25-18, but narrowly lost the second, 27-25. They then rebounded in the third, winning 25-22, before Central forced a deciding bout with a 25-20 advantage in set four. MFL MarMac broke the tie in that final set, winning 15-9.
The teams took nearly the same number of kill attempts, with 122 for MFL MarMac and 120 for Central, but the Bulldogs were successful on 35 compared to just 27 for the Warriors. The Bulldogs also bested Central in the assists column, 31-24. Moreland had a strong night, tallying a team-high 13 kills and 18 assists. Anderson matched her kills total, with 13, and Gillitzer picked up five. Lakota Morrissey had the second-most assists, with nine.
The Bulldogs upped their block total to seven in this match, including four by Moreland, two from Jones and one from Anderson. Lang continued to anchor the back row with a team leading 17 digs, followed by Picha with 10, Moreland with eight and Pape with seven.
Lang also had a superb serving night, hitting all 19 attempts, including one of MFL MarMac’s four aces. Gillitzer attempted a team high 27 serves, making 23 of them along with an ace. Pape was 14-16, Picha 12-14 with an ace, Morrissey 15-18 with an ace and Moreland 11-12.
MFL MarMac wrapped up the week Sept. 30, losing 3-0 to Turkey Valley. The scores were 25-18, 25-20 and 24-14.
The Trojans took over 20 more kill attempts in this match-up, smashing 38 total. The Bulldogs, in comparison, had only 18. Turkey Valley also outpaced MFL MarMac in assists, 37-18, and tallied 11 ace serves.
Moreland led the Bulldog attack, securing nine kills and eight assists. Grace Anderson picked up six kills and Karli Tilson two, while Morrissey added seven assists.
MFL MarMac recorded no blocks in the game and had only 41 digs to Turkey Valley’s 73. Lang was the top Bulldog with nine, followed by Picha with six and five each for Pape and Moreland. Tilson and Hailee Corlett both netted four digs.
At the serving line, the Bulldogs’ completion percentage dropped to 84 percent. Lang hit nine of 10 attempts, including one of the team’s three aces, while Gillitzer was 8-9 with an ace. Moreland also went 8-9 on the night, and Picha was 7-10 with an ace.
MFL MarMac now sits at 10-11 overall and 2-2 in the Upper Iowa Conference. This week, the team will take on West Central on Tuesday, Oct. 5, then head to South Winn on Thursday, Oct. 7.
