Paynesville 0
At Albany, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, the Bulldogs lost the match to the Huskies in three games.
The Bulldog volleyball team dropped two conference contests last week, including a down-to-the-wire five set loss to Litchfield on Thursday, Sept. 21. The Bulldogs played a great match at home against the Dragons. Paynesville took the first two sets to lead 2-0, but the Dragons rallied to win the final three sets and the match.
At left, Mindy Meagher spikes a ball past two Litchfield blockers. Meagher led the Bulldogs with 14 kills against the Dragons.
In the first game, the Bulldogs were fired up and ready to win. Everything clicked on the court as the Bulldogs took a 10-1 lead and won the first game 15-8.
In the second game, the Bulldogs were still on fire. They were playing from their hearts and to win. The Dragons took an 8-5 lead, but Steph Krupke served several points as the Bulldogs took a 12-8 lead.
When the Dragons closed within 12-10, the Bulldogs scored the last three points to win the second game 15-10. Heidi Jansen had an ace kill for the Bulldogs at game point.
The Bulldogs had several great rallies in the first two games. They saved digs into the net to get a couple points, including an important side out where they had two digs into the net to prolong the point.
The third game didn't go quite as well for Paynesville. The girls started to get tired and made some mental errors. They also missed a lot of critical serves. Ahead 9-6, the Dragons scored six straight points to take the third game 15-6.
As the girls talked before the fourth game they knew what they had to do. They decided to go out on the court and take control. They played from their hearts and were very loud. They had many good rallies and that got them excited and they played well.
The Dragons, though, won the seesaw game. After Paynesville took an 11-8 lead, the Dragons scored five consecutive points to lead 13-11. They took the fourth game by a score of 15-12, leveling the match at 2-2.
The fifth and final game of the night was a close one. Both teams needed it to win their first conference match.
The Bulldogs, following their narrow loss in the fourth game, started flat, as the Dragons scored the first six points and built a 10-2 lead.
The Bulldogs rallied to a 12-7 deficit before Jansen served six points to give the Bulldogs a 13-12 lead.
The Dragons tied the score at 13 and won two more points to win the game 15-13 and the match.
The Paynesville girls played well but the Dragons snuck by them. The Bulldogs were disappointed, but they knew that they played well and decided that things can only get better.
Krupke and Jansen were the leading servers for the Bulldogs. Mindy Meagher led the team with 14 kills, while Joy Hemmesch and Jenni Mayer had six each.
The Bulldogs have three games this week. On Monday, they played at home against BBE. On Tuesday, they played at Maple Lake. On Thursday, they will play at Sauk Centre.
Next Tuesday, Oct. 3, they will host St. Cloud Cathedral.
| Litchfield-- | 8 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Paynesville-- | 15 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 13 |
Individual results
Hitting: Mindy Meagher 24/27 - 13A; Joy Hemmesch 20/22 - 6A; Jenni Mayer 10/13 - 6A;
Serving: Steph Krupke 21/25 - 3A; Heidi Jansen 21/23 - 4A; Ashley Wall 7/10 - 4A;
Assists: Krupke 83/83 Ð 27A;
Digs: Krupke 27/28; Hemmesch 28/30.
Albany 3
Paynesville 0
At Albany, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, the Bulldogs lost the match to the Huskies in three games.
At left, Steph Krupke sets the ball while teammate Joy Hemmesch readies herself for an approach to the net.
In the first game, the girls dug the ball well but had a little trouble putting their plays together. Their serves were not very good. The Huskies took the first game by a score of 15-8.
In the second game, the girls had trouble communicating on the court. They got down on themselves and never came back. They lost the second game 15-4.
The third game was little better than the second. The Bulldog plays weren't going together well, and the girls ended up making mental errors. Their communication got a little better, but they never took over the game. The score of the third game was 15-6.
Mindy Meagher and Ashley Wall led the Bulldogs at the net, in both hits and blocks. Lisa Hemingson and Steph Krupke were the leading servers for Paynesville. Heidi Jansen had the most digs.
| Paynesville-- | 8 | 4 | 6 | ||
| Albany-- | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Individual results
Hitting: Mindy Meagher 15/17 - 3A; Ashley Wall 9/9 - 3A;
Serving: Lisa Hemingson 6/7 - 3A; Steph Krupke 7/8 - 2A;
Blocks: Wall 3/4 - 1A; Meagher 6/7 - 1A;
Assists: Krupke 9; Hemingson 6;
Digs: Heidi Jansen 25/31; Meagher 15/20.