ALHS spikers sluggish in tournament
Published 12:00 am Monday, September 16, 2002
JACKSON &045; The best chance for a victory in the Jackson County Central Invitational was also the last chance for the Albert Lea High School volleyball team.
Like the others, it slipped away.
The Tigers struggled in Saturday’s tournament, dropping all four matches. But coach Gina Eppen is hopeful as they return to Big Nine play Tuesday against Mankato East.
&uot;The girls really wanted a win to end the day,&uot; said Eppen. &uot;Now we’ll have to wait until Tuesday. We saw East at the tourney and look forward to a battle. We should match up fairly well.&uot;
That wasn’t the case in the opener Saturday, when the Tigers lost 15-3, 15-0 to a very tall JCC team.
Eppen said the Tigers lacked communication and aggressiveness at the net while falling 15-11, 15-5 to Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin.
The Tigers took a game from St. James but lost the match 2-1, with scores of 15-3, 11-15, 15-7.
Albert Lea lost to Red Rock Central 16-14, 15-13.
The Tigers served 89 percent for the tournament, 120-for-135, with nine aces. They totaled 26 kills and 25 blocks.
The Tigers’ individual leaders for the day: Amber Edwards one kill, two blocks, one dig; Emily Thompson 1 kill, five digs; Ashley Chrz two aces, seven kills, two blocks, 13 assists, 12 digs; Christina Berggren one ace, four kills, five blocks, one assist, 14 digs; Leah Boyer four aces, two kills, three blocks, 26 assists, 15 digs; Jenny Hovendick 12 digs; Whitney Sorenson two aces, 11 kills, 12 blocks, 12 digs; Danielle Rankin one block, 21 digs.
&uot;The girls were disappointed &045; as they should be,&uot; said Eppen. &uot;We had opportunities to get wins and we let ourselves get outplayed. We are ready to win, however, and have made a team commitment to dig deeper and push harder. We’re struggling right now, but the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. This team is hungry for a win.”