Getting a nice balanced attack, spearheaded by the strong net play of junior hitters Hailey Liepold and Meakin Bang, Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda swept Hills-Beaver Creek in Red Rock Conference high school volleyball action at Hills last Thursday evening, September 5.
The victory by the Coyote varsity put HL-O / F at 2-1 for the season and 1-0 in the conference.
Game scores in the three-set sweep were 25-19, 25-17 and 25-19.
Liepold, who attacks from the middle, finished the match with 12 spike kills and a trio of ace blocks, while Bang — who primarily hits from the outside left — smacked 10 kills and led the Coyotes on defense with 14 digs.
After dispatching of H-BC, the volleyball girls traveled to Marshall for a two-day tournament (September 6-7) at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) where they played against several high-caliber big schools and gained a ton of valuable experience — which may pay-off for the Coyotes later in the season.
“Known as the Southwest Minnesota Challenge this is a tournament with phenomenal teams from big schools that are loaded with talented athletes,” declared HL-O / F head volleyball coach Trista Rhubee. “Many of those teams will be playing in the higher-level classes of the state tournament in November. So as a small single A school, we use the experience of this tournament as a learning opportunity.”
The Coyotes won just one of five matches at Marshall, playing against Northfield (4-25, 15-25, loss), Andover (15-25, 8-25, loss), Burnsville (22-25, 15-25, loss), Fergus Falls (19-25, 25-15, 12-15, loss) and Owatonna (25-10, 25-27, 15-9, win) for a tournament record of 1-4. HL-OP / F’s scores are listed first in each of the best-of-three matches.
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