Lena finishes 1-1 at volleyball triangular

The Lena High School volleyball team posted a 1-1 record at a Marinette & Oconto Conference triangular Oct. 14 in Lena, topping Gillett but losing to Niagara.

In Gillett’s other match, the Tigers were swept by Niagara.

Lena

Lena opened the night against Niagara — which claimed the conference title with its two wins on the night — and ended up losing by scores of 25-11, 25-17, 25-12.

The theme of the match was Lena getting stuck in a rotation and Niagara pulling away with big runs.

In set one, Niagara broke open a tight battle with 7-0 and 7-1 runs. Set two saw Lena leading for most of the way, but an 8-0 run sparked a 11-1 finish for the visiting Badgers. The Wildcats also led in the early going of set three before a 13-1 run from Niagara broke open the set. Lena continued to battle until the last point, but the Badgers wouldn’t be denied.

Senior Melanie Cops led Lena with four attack kills in the loss, while junior Natalie McNurlen added three attack kills.

Junior setter Makynna Herald posted eight assists and three digs for the Wildcats.

“They really play as a team, and they know how to get the ball up and they’re really good at getting it,” said Cops of Niagara. “They have a really good setter and some pretty good hits.”

Lena bounced back in its second match of the night, taking down Gillett by scores of 25-10, 25-14, 25-13.

Lena seized control of the match early in set one, opening on a 5-0 run. Later in the set, McNurlen was serving when the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run to pull away. Junior Claire Brooks scored multiple points for the hosts on the big run.

The Wildcats dropped the first point of the second set, but Cops scored four times to help the team out to a 6-2 lead.

McNurlen was serving again when the team went on a 6-0 run. Along with a couple aces from McNurlen, Herald and Brooks also scored on the run. Brooks capped the set with a tip kill.

It was a back-and-forth third set in the early going. Leading 8-7, Lena got a block kill from Brooks before two aces and an attack kill from McNurlen to go up by five.

Later on in the set, sophomore Alabama Lambert provided some strong serving to help the Wildcats go on a 7-0 run and seal up the win.

“Definitely confidence and lots of energy — from the crowd it helped, from the people we had,” said McNurlen on how the team bounced back against Gillett. “And definitely placement of the ball. Our passes were good and we were talking and communicating on the court, and it was just a lot of fun.”

McNurlen and Cops both noted that that the team worked well together against Gillett. McNurlen said the team needs to learn how to move on after mistakes, while Cops said some of the little things, “like talking in the back row” are things the team can still improve on.

Cops finished with eight total kills against Gillett, while Herald had 25 assists.

McNurlen tallied seven attack kills and four aces. Lambert served three aces and had eight attack kills, while Brooks had five total kills.

Gillett

Gillett opened its night with a 25-10, 25-10, 25-11 loss to Niagara.

The Tigers fell behind early in each set and were never able to flip the momentum in their favor. The Badgers opened set one on a 8-2 run before starting set two on a 14-2 run.

Gillett fell behind 7-0 in set three but eventually cut it down to a four-point deficit, 12-8, before Niagara used another 7-0 run to pull away.

Senior libero Naomi Anker was diving all over the court from her back row spot and finished with 19 digs in the loss. Gillett couldn’t get much going offensively, only being credited with four attack kills.

The Tigers had seven attack kills against Lena, with senior Katilynn Dodge tallying three of them. Junior Bella Matczak had three blocks, while Anker had 12 more digs. Dodge posted seven digs, while senior Joslyn Sexton had five digs.

“I think it was really our receiving that was the problem (against Lena),” said Matczak, who added the team never gave up on the night. “We weren’t really ready for, like, the corners and other spots that we’re not used to receiving at.”

“A lot of our girls are playing in different positions than we normally play, and I think we’ve adjusted very, very well to the positions she’s (coach Jill Halla) put us in,” said junior Christina Ciancio.

sports@newmedia-wi.com