Humboldt defeats Clear Lake in NCC volleyball

Humboldt shut out Clear Lake last week in North Central Conference volleyball action. The Lions fell Thursday by scores of  25-18, 25-23, 25-17.

“Overall, the night was fairly successful in a couple different areas.  We had one of our most successful nights at the line serving, only missing two serves and tallying seven aces over three sets,” said Coach Keith Sears.  “We also tried out a new defense that paid off huge for us, with 72 digs on the night.  Our own mistakes hitting and in serve receive continue to be an issue that come back to bite us late in close sets.”

Leading the way at the service line was Kaye Faber, going 11/11 with three aces.  Katie Hewett was 13/14 serving with three aces.

Faber also topped the team in assists with 11.

Emily Phalen was the team leader in digs with 20.  Lindsey Loudenburg dug out 12 shots, while Emily Snelling had 14.

At the net, Phalen and Sidney Borrill had six and four kills respectively.

Mason City Tournament

The Lions participated in a tough Mason City Tournament Saturday, facing Osage, St. Ansgar and Waverly. 

  Clear Lake started off the day against a very tough Osage team and came out a little too slow.  

“Inconsistent passing, missed serves and breakdowns in communication kind of did us in that game,” said Coach Keith Sears.  The Green Devils blanked the Lions, 21-16, 21-7.

The team came out much more ready to play against St. Ansgar, but came up short in the third set, losing 16-21, 21-19, 15-13.

“We had a few too many hitting errors (16) and missed eight serves, which makes it fairly difficult to win close games,” said the coach.

The Lions’ final match of the day against Waverly had some encouraging moments.  The Lions battled back in the second set for a better showing.  Again, hitting errors cost the team in a 21-11, 21-16 loss.

“We managed only four kills in the two sets to go along with 12 hitting errors,” said Coach Sears.  “Overall, our recently modified defense improved throughout the day against teams with very consistent attacking.  There is still plenty of - Read More Via e-Edition