Last Saturday’s Forest City Invitational saw the Cowgirl volleyball team continue to pile up the wins as they went 4-0 on the day. Their first victim was a good and rated Lake Mills team that proved to be no match for them in 21-12 and 21-10 sets. Team serving was at 97.5 percent, with Alaina Friesleben going 14 of 14 (six aces). She also made 17 assists as setter to allow Morgan Middleton to make six kills. Jadyn Jondle had six digs and both Friesleben and Middleton one solo block each on defense.
The ladies in red & black took Newman Catholic in straight sets 21-9 and 21-2. Serving was at 94.9 percent, with Lexie Lane on her game at 18 of 18 (seven aces). Friesleben made 11 assists, Middleton 14 kills and Kendall Lienemann three digs from the back row.
They easily took care of Roland-Story 21-6 and 21-9. Team serving was at 92.7 percent, with Lane staying perfect at 11 of 11 (two) and Middleton going 10 of 11 (one). Friesleben made 13 assists as setter, with Middleton making seven kills. Jondle had seven digs and Lane one solo block.
The lost their only set of the day to Saint Ansgar, but still won 2-1 by scores of W21-12, L21-17 and W15-7. Serving was at 82.7 percent, with Friesleben at 12 of 14 and Lienemann 10 of 11. Friesleben made 18 assists, with Middleton feeding off that for 12 kills. Friesleben made seven digs on defense, with Middleton getting three solo blocks and both Lane and Nicole Waters one each. Lane also added two block assists.
For the day, Lane was 42 of 44 in total serves with 11 aces. Friesleben was 36 of 40 (seven), Middleton 25 of 27 (seven), Lienemann 21 of 24 (two), Jondle 19 of 21 (four) and Waters 14 of 15. Friesleben made 59 total assists, with Middleton pounding 32 total kills. Lienemann made 14, Lane 11, Waters six, Friesleben five and Summer Traub four.
Jondle led in total digs with 19, followed by Middleton with 12, Lienemann with 11, Friesleben with 10, Emma Conlon with eight and Lane with four. Middleton had four total solo blocks and Lane two, while Lane had three total block assists.
“We came out ready to play on Saturday,” stated head coach Katrina TerHark. “We did what we needed to do to get the wins. We need to keep building on this momentum going into this next week and upcoming weeks. We need to continue to focus on having fun and playing together as a team.”
Prior to that, they took care of Clear Lake in straight sets on the Lions home floor. Scores were 25-9, 25-11 and 25-10. Team serving was at 95.8 percent efficiency, with Middleton at 18 of 18 (three). Friesleben had 30 assists, Middleton 14 kills and Jondle eight digs. Lane and Friesleben made two solo blocks each at the net.
“It was great to see us come out and play our game,” said the head coach. “We served aggressively, mixed up the offense and had a lot of touches at the net. We also had 22 aces as a team, which didn’t allow the Lions to set much up offensively all night. We were able to work on some offensive sets and push the tempo, which was great to see. The girls were relaxed and having fun. That is when we play our best volleyball!”
On Thursday, they easily took care of Eagle Grove in straight sets. Team serving was at 85.1 percent, with Lane at 22 of 24 and 14 aces. Friesleben set for 16 assists, Middleton had eight kills and Jondle four digs.
The team travels to their final Saturday tournament of the season at Boone.
