By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
Merrill volleyball racked up another match win on Thursday night, defeating Marshfield with a final match score of 3-1. It was a match that kept everyone on the edge of their seats the whole time, as both teams were very nearly evenly matched.
Merrill won the first two sets 25-23 and 25-22, overcoming, at times, large point deficits including a six-point deficit right at the beginning of set two. They couldn’t quite hold back Marshfield on set three, losing 25-22, but came back in set four with a 25-22 win to take the victory.
Morgan Wardall and Katie Zelinski were the dominant offensive force of the game, both with 37 attacks. Katie had 16 kills and two errors and Morgan had 15 kills and four errors. Kelsie Belfiori and Kaylee Bowe also helped on offense, both with 16 attacks. Kelsie had four kills and two errors and Kaylee had three kills and four errors.
Lindsey Casper lead with serving attempts at 27; she had one ace and four errors along with 25 set assists. Morgan and Madisen had the most aces at three, with Morgan having 22 attempts and two errors and Madisen Weix having 11 attempts and three errors. Kelsie and Taylor Cichy equaled on serving, each with 12 attempts, one ace and on error.
“We fought an uphill battle for three out of the four sets,” comments head coach Kris Krug. “I felt like we handled the pressure points in the match once the set score reached 20. Although we played defense better than we did the first time we saw Marshfield, our passing was all over the place. Serving needs much improvement.
(Merrill lost to Marshfield during an Invite on August 23rd, with the Bluejays losing the first game 25-17, winning second game with a 25-23 but then losing 15-12).
“It was a quality win against a high caliber team. We should begin to feel good about going into the Valley Conference Tournament this weekend.”
Merrill varsity volleyball will face Marshfield again, along with all the other valley teams this Saturday at 9 a.m. at Marshfield.
For full stats, click here.
