Bulldogs strive to grow from opening week defeats
Addison Corlett earned eight assists in the first match and 12 in the second of last week’s triangular. (Photos by Audrey Posten)
Maddie Keehner was among MFL MarMac's kills leaders in the Sept. 3 triangular.
Lauryn Johnson receives a serve in MFL MarMac's game against Turkey Valley.
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The MFL MarMac volleyball team dropped the first two games of its season Sept. 3, in a home triangular versus New Hampton and Turkey Valley. The matches still offer a lot to build on, said head coach Becky Johnson.
“This team is very capable of winning and, with the first competition out of the way, we know exactly where we need to grow,” she said.
New Hampton won the first contest in straight sets, 25-17 and 25-8.
“I was very pleased with how we came to play in the first set. The entire team was locked in and ready to prove what they were made of. We did have to make some lineup changes, as Devon Meyer was sidelined by a practice injury that happened the week prior. There were also some first match jitters the team was working through,” Johnson said.
The Chickasaws tallied 15 kills to MFL MarMac’s 12 on 12 fewer attempts and also performed well from the service line, completing 43 of 48 attempts, including seven aces. The Bulldogs’ serve efficiency was at 76.9 percent after hitting 20 of 26.
“The biggest difference from set one to set two was the errors. We beat ourselves in the second set. Our serving efficiency has to improve tremendously,” Johnson said. “We are a long way off from where I know this team can be...Overall, I was pleased with how the team adjusted to some different roles.”
Maddie Keehner, Lily Johnson and Avery Lamborn each netted three kills for the Bulldogs. Addison Corlett was the lone setter, with eight assists, and also showed quick defense with five digs. Autumn Shaw collected four digs and Lauryn Johnson led the team with eight.
Corlett was MFL MarMac’s serve leader, going a perfect 7-7 with one ace. Keagan Echard completed all four of her attempts.
In match two, Turkey Valley bested the Bulldogs 25-12 in set one, then held on for a 25-21 victory in the second.
“This was the opposite of the New Hampton match,” Johnson said. “Our first set, again, we beat ourselves. Our errors got the best of us. We only served 65 percent. Again, I know that this team is capable of serving at least 20 percent better, because some of them were servers last year on varsity with better serving efficiencies. The second set, we played much better, but we couldn’t pull ahead with where we were serving at.”
The Trojans tallied 18 kills to the Bulldogs’ 14—on 19 fewer attempts—and also had some success at the net with four blocks. Their serve efficiency hovered right below 90 percent and they connected on eight aces.
Keehner and Lamborn each provided three kills for MFL MarMac and Lily Johnson five.
Corlett cranked out 12 assists and continued to contribute defensively with three digs. Lily and Lauryn Johnson earned eight digs apiece.
Looking ahead, said Johnson, “We will be focusing a lot in practice on limiting our errors, scoring drills using positive and negative points and, of course, serving.”
MFL MarMac will test those skills on Sept. 10, in a triangular at Maquoketa Valley. This week’s schedule also includes a tournament at Camanche on Sept. 14.
