Highway 2 rivals Hyannis and St Agnes met in Alliance on Thursday for a pair of matches. Both contests went 3 sets and both contests had the hosts coming out on top. The Crusaders defeated the Longhorns in the varsity battle 25 14 22 25 and 15 6 for their 8th win on the year. In the first game of the afternoon, the Academy also got the W, besting the guests 25 18 22 25 15 9 in JV action. Top scorer for SA in the varsity game was Delaney Jelinek who finished with 15 points. Leading the offense in the JV game was Nala Reza who also tallied 15 points while Jamisyn Rasmussen added 11 tallies.
Nine Reza points in set 1 of the junior varsity affair helped the Academy grab a quick lead. Rasmussen scored 3 times late in the opener to give the Crusaders an 18 to 14 advantage. Tied at 18, Alliance got a kill by Natalie Mullen to surge ahead and send Reza to the line. She responded with 6 in a row as St Agnes took the first set 25 18.
Set 2 was a close one. Hyannis took a 3 to 0 lead but more Reza points help the Academy move out in front. Kills by Mullen and Avery Breen later in the set made the score 18 to 15 in favor of the hosts. Set 2 came down to the end with the Longhorns making one last run and winning it 25 to 22. Five early Rasmussen tallies in the finale helped the Crusaders go up 6 to 1. The teams then swapped scores before points by Peyton Lauder and Mullen gave SA a nice margin. Set 3 came a close with points by Sidda Wilcox and Lauder and the Academy getting the win 15 to 9
Hy 18 25 9
SA 25 22 15
Stats. Wilcox 5 points. Lauder 2 points 1 kill. Mullen. 3 points 2 kills. Reza 15 points. Rasmussen 11 points. Breen. 2 points 3 kills
St Agnes won set 1 on the varsity game 25 14. The Academy got contributions from all 7 players. Grace Shrewsbury had a nice set defensively while Kale Hulquist and Aubrey Dudden combined for 6 kills. Both Jelinek and Quinn Robertson ended with 5 points each. Combining for 6 points were Alexis Shelmadine and Addison Intermill. Four points Jelinek midway thru gave the hosts a 13 to 4 margin. Ahead 20 to 13, three tallies by Shelmadine increased the Academy lead. Dudden finished off the guests with a strong serve as SA took the opener by 11.
Set #2 began the Crusaders taking the lead. Points and kills by Hulquist and Shelmadine paced the Alliance O. Hyannis countered and went up before points by Jelinek closed the gap. Down the stretch, it was the Horns forcing a third set with a 25 to 22 victory.
In the race to 15, it was Alliance coming out on top. Jelinek continued her strong service game by tallying 7 of the Crusaders points. Two kills each by Dudden and Hulquist pushed the Academy lead to 7 at 12 to 5. The game closed with St Agnes scoring the final point and winning the third set 15 to 6
Hy 14 25 6
SA 25 22 15
Stats. Dudden 4 points 3 kills. Hulquist 9 kills. 1 point. Robertson 8 points. Shelmadine 5 points 2 kills. Intermill 4 points. Jelinek 15 points. 1 kills
Alliance will play in Morrill on Monday.