Back-and-forth match goes way of visiting Hawks

COLFAX — Two of the top hitters in the South Iowa Cedar League tried to put their respective teams on their backs Thursday.

When Lynnville-Sully needed a point, the Hawks turned to junior Brenna Lanser, while Colfax-Mingo sophomore Ries Wilson carried the Tigerhawks most of the night.

The deciding factor in Lynnville-Sully’s five-set victory though was Lanser’s supporting cast. Wilson finished with 17 kills, but no other Tigerhawk player had more than three, while Lanser got plenty of help from Makenzy Rozendaal, Olivia Ritter and Shelby Foster.

Lanser finished with 14 kills and that led the Hawks to a 25-15, 22-25, 25-14, 24-26, 15-6 win during an SICL match. It was Lynnville-Sully’s second straight five-set win and both matches were similar in how they started and finished.

“We’ve had that the last few matches. We win a few easily and then we just lose momentum for some reason,” Lynnville-Sully assistant coach Stacey James said. “Luckily, we came out strong in the fifth.”

James was filling in for Hawk head coach Heather James, who left for California on a business trip Monday.

The loss was Colfax-Mingo’s second straight and the Tigerhawks have now lost seven of their last eight.

“We just didn’t play well in the first and third games. Our serve receive hurt us tonight,” Colfax-Mingo coach Michelle Grant said. “We have to do something we our serve receive. When we just get it back over the net, we get into a back and forth and we don’t come out on top in those situations enough.”

The Hawks dominated the first and third sets. And Lanser was right in the middle of both of them.

She scored back-to-back points, one on an ace, to give her squad an 11-5 lead couldn’t get closer than five the rest of the way.

“If we need points, she’s the go-to girl and she gets it done for us,” James said.

In the third set, Lynnville-Sully (8-6 overall, 5-2 in SICL) jumped out to a 7-1 lead, and Colfax-Mingo never recovered.

“She just had her way at the net, especially in the two first two sets they won,” Grant said of Lanser. “But if the passing had been better in the first and third games, it’s a different story.”

The Hawks were close to a sweep. They had their hosts on the ropes in the second set, breaking away from a 9-all match to go up 14-10. Lynnville-Sully led 22-17, but Wilson refused to let her team go away.

Wilson’s kill made it 22-18, but then she stepped behind the service line and helped her Tigerhawks (4-10, 2-5) rally for the win. She had three aces during that stretch, including two on the final two points of the set. Wilson had four aces on the night.

“It’s all about her confidence. She hit the net, and they still went over and that gave her come confidence during that last stretch in game two,” Grant said. “When she gets going, she can go on all night.”

Colfax-Mingo nearly lost a big lead in game four.

The Tigerhawks broke open a 10-7 lead with six straight points. A trio of Lanser kills kept the Hawks close and her ace rallied them back from a 23-18 deficit.

The ace tied the match at 23-all, and Rozendaal’s kill gave the Hawks set point. Wilson though responded again, scoring three straight points to give the Tigerhawks a 26-24 win.

Colfax-Mingo failed to maintain the momentum in the final set though. While the set was close in the first 10 points, Lynnville-Sully pulled away with seven straight points.

Kristen Van Der Wilt ended the 7-0 spurt with three consecutive aces.

Aranda Woods and Megan Earles recorded a pair of kills to keep the set alive, but Lanser tip and a Tigerhawk error finished the win off for Lynnville-Sully.

Earles finished with 22 assists and 12 digs for Colfax-Mingo, while Mackensie Brown had 18 digs and five aces.

Shaylee Shedenhelm had three aces and Delaney Underwood was 21-of-21 in serves with two aces. The Tigerhawks were 80-of-87 in serves for the match and had 15 aces.

The Tigerhawks played the match without two varsity regulars.

Colbee Cunningham broke a bone in her foot and will miss at least four weeks, while Chelsea Russell suffered what Grant called a “brutal high ankle sprain” and should be back in about a week.

Lynnville-Sully returns to action Monday when the Hawks host HLV in SICL play.

The Tigerhawks head to the Madrid Tournament on Saturday.