MW VOLLEYBALL: Lady Jays defeat Riverland

AUSTIN — Katey Granstra smashed a team-high 16 kills as the Lady Jays defeated the Riverland Blue Devils in three games Wednesday.

“We are definitely excited to get another win,” MW coach Marie Johnson said. “It was important for us to get this win after losing our last match against Rochester.”

The Lady Jays won the first match 25-15 to take a one-game lead over the Blue Devils.

“The girls played well all around tonight,” Johnson said. “But there were still time I felt like the girls needed to make sure their feet were moving.”

The second game was a little closer than the first, with the Blue Devils picking up three more points before the Lady Jays closed out the win 25-18.

“Our teamwork has come together a long the way this year,” Johnson said. “We are really starting to know where our teammates are on the court and are reading our opponent’s movements better.”

MW completed the sweep of the Blue Devils with a 25-22 win in Game 3.

“We could still be stronger with our hands on our blocks in the front row,” Johnson said. “But we have been working really hard and have been coming together to work well as a team.”

Mara Eichenberger had 30 set assists to go along with two aces for the Lady Jays. Brittany Hulstein was second on the team with nine kills and nine digs, while Madie Rasche led the team in digs with 17.

“We did serve well tonight,” Johnson said. “We were talking to each other on the floor and had some really strong hits up front.”

Christine Kazemba added five kills and a block for MW, while Lindsey Drooger and Tiffany Gehl each had a block.

“We still need to pick it up in certain areas,” Johnson said. “We need to stay focused and make sure we bring back the intensity we had tonight the rest of the season.”

The Lady Jays open up a three-match homestand Saturday when they host St. Cloud Tech at Worthington High School.

“It will definitely be exciting to be back home,” Johnson said. “It should help us out in these next few games to be playing in front of our home crowd.”

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