Crusaders win five matches in busy week

The No. 1 ranked Mayer Lutheran volleyball team won a pair of matches last week before going 3-2 at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge, taking 10th place out of 32 teams.

Mayer Lutheran 3

Jackson County Central 1

The Crusaders took on JCC at Bethany College Tuesday night, winning 3-1 (25-11, 24-26,25-7, 25-7).

“Great environment tonight,” said coach Joelle Grimsley. “In the first set, the Crusaders came out strong and full of energy. The second game was a battle with a few errors to end the set and then sets three and four, the Crusaders did not make many mistakes and stayed focused. There were many long rallies throughout these sets with some great finishes by the Crusaders. JCC is very scrappy and never quit.”

Team Stats:

Serving: 94% 92-98 14 aces

Blocks: 5

Digs: 76

Attacks: 53 kills KE 250%

Set Assists: 52

Individual Stats:

Iris Husberg: 1 kill

Marley Martin: 14 kills 1 block 3 assists 12 digs

Ada Hahn: 4 kills 3 assists 4 digs

Courtney: 20 — 21 serves 3 aces 11 kills 2 blocks 6 digs

Livi: 12 — 12 1 ace 9 digs

Ellie: 10 — 11 1 ace 7 assists 7 digs

Hallie: 5 kills 1 block

Mari Buhr: 8 kills 4 digs

Izzy: 19 — 19 7 kills 29 assists 14 digs

Clara: 25-27 2 kills 19 digs

Braylin 1 block

Mayer Lutheran 3

Spectrum 0

The Crusaders played in their first conference match, winning 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-11).

“The Crusaders played an up-tempo match tonight and stuck to the plan for the night,” said Grimsley. “Every single set we play is a learning experience.”

Team Stats:

Serving: 68- 74 85% 5 Aces

Attacks: 37 Kill Efficiency 337%

Blocks: 3

Assists: 37

Digs: 36

Individual Stats:

Marley Martin: 10 kills 1 block 3 digs

Ada: 3 kills I dig

Olivia: 6 set assists

Courtney: 11-11 10 kills 1 block

Livi: 5 digs

Ellie: 6 assists

Mari Buhr: 6 kills 2 digs

Hallie Hunter: 3 kills 2 blocks

Izzy: 12-12 serving 2 aces 5 kills 18 assists 8 digs

Clara: 15-17 serves 2 aces 5 assists 9 digs

Braylin: 3 — 3 1 ace

Southwest Minnesota Challenge

STMA: 25 — 15, 25-9, (2-0 win)

The Crusaders served a 93 percent with six aces, 20 kills and assists, 21 digs. Mari led the team with six kills and Marley with five. Izzy had 13 assists while Clara had seven digs.

“This was a great way to start this tournament,” said Grimsley.

Prior Lake: 20 — 25, 25-15 (0-2 loss)

“Overall, it was not a good performance, and we had to figure some things out on the court,” said Grimsley.

The Crusaders served 89 percent with nine service errors.

“We just could not get into any rhythm at all in this match,” said Grimsley. “We seemed to get on a short roll and then have an unforced error. Prior Lake did a good job of keeping the pressure on us throughout the match.”

Minneota: 25-17, 25-23 (2-0 win)

“Great way to start a full day of volleyball,” said Grimsley. “The Crusaders played strong and consistent this entire match not allowing Minneota to get on any long runs. We served an 86 percent but had seven aces and got Minneota out of system with our strong serving. 27 kills with a kill efficiency of 297 percent. The second set was more of a battle and Minneota made a few errors at the end that we were able to capitalize on.”

Mari led the team in kills with seven while Marley, Izzy had six each. Hallie and Courtney each had four.

“Our defense was great,” said Grimsley. “Total team effort to beat Minneota.”

Maple Grove: 16-25, 26-24, 15-13 (2-1 win)

“Overall, just a great match of determination and starting to realize we really need to

keep our errors down,” said Grimsley. “They were fast and did not give up at all in set three. So much fun for the girls to succeed and get better throughout the match.”

Wayzata: 18-25, 16-25 (0-2 loss)

“Wayzata was a step in front of us the entire match,” said Grimsley. “We were not able to get any runs going and momentum was defiantly in their favor. Crusaders never gave up. This is such a great tournament for so many reasons. The competition is going to always be tough. This will help us learn so much about our team and each individual player. We just worked hard and have a lot of fun while were in Marshall. I was very proud overall of what I saw on the court. We will continue to work hard and grow as a team.”