Cardinals top Bishop Garrigan in league volleyball action

The Garner-Hayfield/Ventura volleyball team went 3-2 in action last week, moving their overall record to 17-9.

GHV 3, Bishop Garrigan 2

It was a tough battle for the Cardinals on Tuesday, Sept. 30, when the team hosted Bishop Garrigan.  GHV prevailed, topping the Golden Bears, 3-2, to finish the regular season fourth in the North Iowa Conference.

The Cardinals won the first match, 25-20, but dropped the next two, 25-17 and 25-22.  GHV put their never give up attitude to the test and won the last two matches, 25-20 and 15-10, for the final victory.

“The girls did an excellent job of finishing the match strong,” said Coach Kelsey Steffens.

Hannah Lau had a powerful night at the net, collecting an amazing 24 kills.

Mackenzie Van Gerpen had a strong night on both offense and defense, with 11 kills and 11 digs.

Grace Tusha recorded five kills, while Madee Hejna had three and Carlie Knutson and Emily Spilman both recorded two kills.

Knutson also recorded nine digs and led the team at the service line, recording 10 points on serve.  Mallory Van Oort had seven digs and one ace serve.  Sydney Younge recorded 33 assists and four digs.

Other players having strong nights at the service line were Van Gerpen with eight points on serve and Hejna, Van Oort and Stacy Hackenmiller had six points on serve.  Hackenmiller led the team with two ace serves.

NIC Tournament

GHV had its ups and downs at the North Iowa Conference Tournament held Saturday, Oct. 4.  The Cardinals 2-2 record failed to move them into the semi-finals played on Monday, Oct. 6

The Cardinals picked up wins against North Iowa, 2-1, and West Hancock, 2-0.

GHV dropped the first match against North Iowa, 21-16, but won the last two showdowns, 21-14 and 15-6.  Hannah Lau led the team in kills with 10, while Mackenzie Van Gerpen and Emily Spilman recorded six and five kills respectively.  Tjaden Kramer led the team in digs with five, followed by Mallory Van Oort with four.  Sydney Younge led the team in assists with 16.

West Hancock didn’t put up much of a fight, as the Cardinals won both matches, 21-14 and 21-17.  Spilman, Tusha and Lau led at the net with five kills apiece.  Van Oort was the defensive leader with seven digs, while Stacy Hackenmiller and Van Gerpen had six digs apiece.

After topping Bishop Garrigan earlier in the week, the Golden Bears came back and beat the Cardinals.  B-G won the first match, 21-17.  GHV took the second match, 21-19 and the Golden Bears finished it up with a score of 15-8 for the final win.  Van Gerpen and Lau led at the net with six and five kills respectively.  Van Gerpen and Van Oort each recorded seven digs.  Stacy Hackenmiller picked up three ace serves.  Sydney Younge recorded 12 assists, two kills and two digs.

“Our offense struggled against Bishop Garrigan,” said Coach Kelsey Steffens.

The always tough Lake Mills team cruised to a victory with scores of 21-10 and 21-15.

“The girls played their best volleyball of the day against Lake Mills,” said Steffens.

Hackenmiller and Younge led the team on defense with four digs apiece.  Spilman and Van Oort each had three digs.  Lau and Van Gerpen led at the net with five kills apiece.

“It was discouraging to not get to play on Monday night, but now we’re focused on part two of the season,” said Steffens.

The Cardinals are home on Tuesday night, Oct. 14, against Rockford.  The varsity takes the court at 7:30 p.m.