Volleyball takes second in home tournament
As the opening month of competition winds to a close, the Cyclones volleyball team find themselves off to one of their hottest starts to the season in recent memory. It was a busier than usual week for the Cyclones as they competed against two tough opponents in Maple River and Le Sueur-Henderson, but also battled five other squads in a tournament they held on Saturday, September 28. Once the dust settled after a draining week of competition, the Cyclones stood near the top of their conference in second place with an 8-2 record, a four-game winning streak, and a second place finish in their tournament. Coach Ashley Sander expressed a ton of pride for the success of the team and how well her players have responded to adversity. “The girls are playing at a really high level right now and this is one of the best starts we’ve had in a long time; they hold each other accountable in practice and the intensity is just like an actual game. We might be a smaller and younger team, but we’re still a tough out because we don’t give up.”
The Cyclones seemed to prove Sander right during their first matchup of the week against the Maple River Eagles on September 24. The two teams played each other back on September 8 in one of the first matches of the season as the Cyclones won at home in straight sets; this time, the Cyclones would be on the road against a team hungry for a taste of revenge. Sander noted the game plan for this matchup would be similar to their previous game against the Eagles. “We’re working to maintain the tempo we have been playing at and attacking as often as we can.”
The Eagles seemed to screech the Cyclones’ tempo to a halt in the first set of the match as their defense helped contain a potent striking offense, but Ashlyn DeMartini broke through with a booming shot down the line for the team’s opening points. The two teams were evenly matched throughout the first set with the Cyclones going on a 7-1 run at one stage of the set; Paige St. Peter and Brooklyn Meng have been shifty offensive players with their perfect placements and the Eagles found themselves down early in the set. It was a raucous crowd as both student sections for Maple River and St. Clair traded verbal chants and jeers against each other as the first set was underway; perhaps the road noise got into the heads of the Cyclones as a series of miscommunication and unforced errors caused them to not only lose several points in the set, but eventually the set as a whole as Maple clinched 25-20.
As the second set began, there was some initial confusion from the Cyclones as Sander made some tweaks to the lineup, but the confusion quickly turned into celebration as DeMartini unleashed another vicious shot to claim the first point of the set. Despite the point, the players still looked flummoxed out there and Sander called a timeout early to smooth out any questions regarding her lineup. Once everyone was on the same page, the Cyclones took a quick 9-5 lead as the serving of Brooklin Hinze and Haddie Jobe played a large role in the early lead; defensively, St. Peter and Meng were menaces at the net as they redirected shots, blocked potential kills, and their quick strikes at the net caught Maple River off guard several times in the set.
The Eagles didn’t back down though as this was another hard fought set between two determined teams, but the ferocious aerial assault from Hinze, DeMartini, and Payton Blount proved to be too much to handle as the three helped clinch the second set for the Cyclones–25-21. The three combined for 37 kills for the match. The third set had similar drama down the stretch as the Cyclones jumped to an early lead as every player on the court made their impact known as Blount and DeMartini led the way with their spikes, St. Peter made an acrobatic shot for a point, Jobe landed a few aces, and Addison Nicolai came off the bench to block a shot that snuffed out a last-ditch effort for the Eagles to get back in the match. The Cyclones clinched the third set 25-20.
The fourth and deciding set started out strong for the Eagles as they were now the ones in desperation mode to get back into the match; they got off to a quick 3-0 lead, but a smart play by Hinze at the net got the Cyclones on the board. Hinze seemed to be the catalyst for the team as she excelled at a little bit of everything in the fourth set; she netted a couple of aces with serves that looked like rockets, her defense at the net blocked several shots from the Eagles, and she landed a few kills of her own. It was a rare occurrence to see Maple RIver with possession as enduring the offensive onslaught of St. Clair left this team exhausted by the end of a 25-11 drubbing and a Cyclones victory. The win would be the Cyclones third in a row as they moved to 7-2 on the season and Sander noted the win “wasn’t always pretty” but the team “will never apologize for a win.”
As they entered their second matchup of the week against the Le Sueur-Henderson Giants on September 26, Sander and the Cyclones seemed confident that their level of preparation during practice has helped propel them to a great start to the season. “Our preparation in practice and keeping a high level of intensity has really helped these girls improve and play like it’s an actual game. That intensity is so important and it’s got us off to one our best starts in recent memory.”
It was another competitive matchup for the Cyclones against an equally skilled team like the Giants; each set was fraught with drama and moments of uncertainty, but St. Clair seemed to sharpen its play as the match continued as they took control of all three sets en route to victory. Set 1 saw a slightly different lineup as Blount would come off the bench as the Giants did a good job neutralizing the Cyclones’ attack. It took some savvy play by Meng and St. Peter to rattle their opponent as their quick strikes at the net landed for several points–one of STP’s shots thudded hard on the floor and echoed in the gym. That must’ve stung. The Cyclones still found themselves facing a deficit throughout the early half of the set, but they eventually were able to tie at 16 and soon claimed the lead for the first time in the set as DeMartini struck a shot over a defender’s head to put her team on top. The Giants did tie the set shortly after, but Hinze and Blount combined for a series of kills including a crosscourt shot by Blount that landed in-bounds to force Set Point. Blount would then finish off the set with a vicious shot to clinch 25-21.
Set 2 proved to be a real battle between both teams as neither team allowed the other to build their lead past three or more points. The serving for the Cyclones was a game-changer as Jobe, Meng, and Hinze netted numerous aces in the set as they only missed one serve the entire night. Blount landed 16 kills on the night and her most memorable in the second set followed a block by the Giants…this seemed to enrage Blount as the next play ended with a furious display of power as the ball broke through the defense for a St. Clair point. STP showcased her ability on both sides of the court as she dropped the hammer down with a spike at the net only to block the Giants’ next shot. Adeline Lotton also made an impact in the set with her defense as she kept rallies going with her play in the backcourt and her hard work was rewarded as she scored the clinching kill to take the second set 25-23.
The third and deciding set got off to an incredible start as Hinze dove to save a play inbounds and the rally ended with a crushing shot by Demartini to give the Cyclones an early 3-2 lead. The Cyclones would get on a roll as their skills sharped in the third set as Lotton, Blount, and STP worked together to build a 13-7 lead; STP and Blount particularly shined in the set as Blount unloaded bazooka blasts en route to 16 kills for the night and her and STP formed a strong defensive wall as they blocked several shots. The Giants appeared overwhelmed on the court as the Cyclones would go on a 10+ points run as they once again overpowered their opponent on the attack. A few reserve players in Valerie Quast and Rachel Hogan took the court for a few possessions. The Giants did their best to make a late push in the set, but a fault at the net ended the night as the Cyclones took the third set 25-17.
The Cyclones stand at 8-2 and second place in their conference after a successful weekend of competition. They competed in a tournament held at St. Clair on September 28 and took second place against five other teams including Blue Earth Area, Madelia, Mountain Lake and others. Overall, the Cyclones played without Blount in their rotation, but the offense still came in bunches as DeMartini, Hinze, and STP were standouts in an impressive showing over four matches. The Cyclones qualified for the Championship match against Western Lutheran–a team they had defeated in their first matchup of the tournament.
The Cyclones will look to keep their hot start to the season going as they head on the road for two of their matches against Truman on September 30, Sibley East on October 1st, and look to avenge their September 19 loss to Lake Crystal in their Dig Pink/Cancer Night on October 3rd.
