March 19, 2024

CMB begins season with win over L-S

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BAXTER — The Collins-Maxwell/Baxter volleyball team got its legs knocked out from underneath it last season when Brianda Bane went down with an ACL injury.

Bane would have made a difference in the final season outcome in 2015 after collecting 70 kills in only 30 sets.

Now a junior, Bane is back and maybe better than ever. She took over CMB’s season opener against Lynnville-Sully on Tuesday night, leading the Raiders to a four-set home win.

After a sluggish start, the Raiders (1-0) pulled out a 25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22 win over a talented Hawks’ squad, which got a big effort from senior hitter Brenna Lanser.

“Lynnville-Sully is a good team. They are very improved over the past seasons and played well tonight,” CMB coach Scott Ranck said.

“We didn’t get off to a very good start, but we were able to settle in.”

Bane, who finished with a team-high 15 kills, was happy to be back on the floor with her teammates.

“It was so great. The energy from my teammates and the crowd was so awesome. I missed it so much,” Bane said. “I missed half of the season last year, so it feels good to be back.

“It is really exciting. I didn’t know what to expect tonight, but I did better than I thought I would do. That’s always a good thing.”

The Hawks let leads slip away in the first two sets. A pair of kills by Lanser and a CMB net violation gave L-S a 15-6 lead in the opener.

The Raiders rallied though behind strong serving from junior Sailor Hinegardner and a pair of kills by junior Jordynn Wesselink.

Wesselink also served up back-to-back aces to give the Raiders their first lead since the early stages of the game. They never trailed again.

The Hawks jumped out to another lead in the second set. A pair of kills from Lanser and Jataya Meyer helped the Hawks grab a 14-7 lead, but CMB rallied once again. The Raiders got back-to-back kills by senior Sydney Ziesman and back-to-back aces by senior Kathleen Baldwin helped tie the score at 18-all.

Lanser took over down the stretch though as she collected four kills to push them to a set win.

“It was almost like we got to 15 points in every set and then we let it go,” Lynnville-Sully coach Jayme Deal said. “It was mostly an issue with communication and our energy on the floor. We have been working on that, but we need to get better. We need to do better communicating with each other.”

The final two sets were the most competitive. There were 10 ties and five lead changes in the fourth set. The fifth set had eight ties and four lead changes, but the biggest lead of the game was three by the Raiders.

“It’s a big win,” Bane said. “We have high expectations so starting off with a win is great.”

Season openers give coaches a chance to figure out how their teams play when the lights are on.

Ranck definitely thinks his team needs to serve better but also hopes to be more consistent in the biggest moments of the match.

“We got into a run and then gave up free points. I like being aggressive, but those can be big points,” said Ranck about the serving. “We have to play every point. We have to push through points that don’t go well. We need to be more under control in some of the key situations.”

The biggest improvement the Hawks need to make, according to Deal, involves blocking.

“We need to work on closing the block, but watching the girls play and all the work we have put in this preseason, I thought they did outstanding, especially against a bigger program,” Deal said.

Lanser led the Hawks with 18 kills, 27 digs and two aces, while sophomore Carson Fisk finished with 34 assists. Junior Camryn Russell and senior Makenzy Rozendaal each had six kills, junior McKinley Conover had 13 digs and the Hawks were 93-of-101 in serves. Senior Jelissa Rozendaal recorded 12 digs.