Lake Mills Volleyball splits 4 matches at Nevada Tournament on Saturday
Lake Mills at Nevada Tournament
Pool Play:
LM 21-14, 26-24 over Glenwood
LM 21-13, 21-16 over Carroll
LM 19-21, 14-21 lost to Des Moines Christian (ranked #1 in 3A)
Championship Bracket:
LM 15-21, 13-21 lost to Norwalk (ranked #14 in 4A)
Stats on the day:
Kills:
Ellie Hanna 29
Dottie Byars 14
Ella Stene 14
Ava Moen 11
Finley Rogstad 5
Karli Helgeson 2
Assist:
Karli 62
Taylor Vanek 5
Finley 4
Serving:
Taylor 33-34, 4 aces
Karli 28-29, 2 aces
Natalie Brandenburg 28-28, 2 aces
Dottie 22-23, 6 aces
Ellie 13-18, 2 aces
Finley 17-18, 1 ac
Team 141-150, 94%, 17 aces
Blocks:
Ava 4
Ellie 2
 Karli 1
Finley 2
Digs:
Taylor 28
Natalie 19
Brynn Rogness 19
Finley 13
Karli 11
Dottie 9
Ella 4
Ellie 4
This tournament was a loaded field with 6 teams rated in 2A-4A.  We played all 3A and 4A teams so we knew this was a step up.
To start the day we faced a very solid program in Glenwood.  They are young this year but very athletic.  Set 2 was crazy as it was back and forth the entire way.  No one had more than a 3-point lead at any time.  We trailed 16-18 before battling back to take a 21-20 lead but then it was tense and back and forth until we scored the final 3 points to win 26-24.  We played excellently because we had a sense of urgency, you have to in a set like this.  We need to play that way all the time.
We never missed a serve in either set.
Against Carroll we got our early in each set and outside of a short run by Carroll in set 2 we were in control most of the match.  This was important just so it would put us in the top bracket in the afternoon.
In our final pool play match, we got to see the #1 ranked team in 3A.  We competed in the 1st set and had some nice leads against them and could have taken the 1st set.   They put a lot of pressure on our defense because our offense wasn’t able to terminate and we gave them extra swings in each volley and with an offense they have you won’t get away with that.  We showed we can compete against some very good teams we just need to be more willing to win rather than hope our opponents make mistakes to lose.  We get a little tight against great teams and that is not the time to do that.  But we had a lot of fun in set 1.  Set 2 started well but we lost our steam midway through the set and they took control.
In the afternoon, after another 3-hour wait, like last weekend, we faced 4A rated Norwalk.  We never got on track and they dominated the match from start to finish.  It looked as if we had a long week, a long early morning bus trip, and a long wait when we stepped onto the floor.  All of this is true but once you take the floor you have to find the energy to compete.
On the day we served very well.  We missed a few key serves but you have to be willing to take some risk against teams like this.  But our serving was a bright spot on the day.  Dottie did a great job bringing a little heat against DMC and we needed that.  Taylor, Natalie, Finley, and Karli are all very consistent and continue to work on locating their serves.
Our middles had a great day.  Ava Moen may have had her best Saturday yet.  She was more active and efficient and put some balls down when we needed them.  This was nice to see.
Defensively we battled well.  Where we broke down in our serve receive game was against Norwalk.  If you don’t handle the serve you won’t have a chance, for obvious reasons.  We have to be more focused on that part of our game.
Lake Mills rated #15 in 2A
21-4 overall.
Have not lost to a 1A or 2A team yet.  3 of 4 losses are to rated 3A and 4A teams.
Next is our final TIC home match for the year on Thursday vs North Iowa for Senior Night.