There was progress and improvement and excitement for the Albert Lea High School volleyball team.

Wednesday, October 06, 1999

There was progress and improvement and excitement for the Albert Lea High School volleyball team.

There was even an opening-game victory.

The match, however, went the way of Rochester Mayo.

The visiting Spartans kept the Tigers winless on their home floor this season with a come-from-behind 3-1 decision at Southwest Junior High School Tuesday night. The final tally in favor of Mayo was 12-15, 15-6, 15-6, 15-13.

&uot;I think we made a lot of improvement,&uot; said Tigers coach Lisa Deyak. &uot;The kids played well in games one and four. We didn’t have the energy in games two and three, and that’s why we lost those games.&uot;

The Tigers served 84 percent as a team, led by Maria Thompson at 16-for-16, Holly Larson 12-for-13, Kristi Mueller 10-for-11 and Jenny Vanderploeg 16-for-18.

Larson led the Tigers in serve receive, with 67 percent perfect to the setter. Amundson was the leader in passing, with 63 percent on the mark for the setter.

Vanderploeg and Beth Kolling tied for the team lead with 11 kills. Aubree Page had nine kills, Emily Dickerman four. Dickerman’s .571 hitting efficiency was a team high.

Mueller was 34-for-34 setting with 14 assists for 41 percent, a figure Deyak called very impressive. Kolling had eight assists, Dickerman four.

&uot;We were definitely the better team,&uot; said Deyak. &uot;We just made some errors. The one thing I really liked is that the girls went out there to win. We just needed to maintain it a little longer.&uot;

The Tigers, 0-5 in the Big Nine and 1-12 overall, travel to Rochester John Marshall Thursday.