Bulldogs title run ends

Published 4:34 pm Saturday, November 13, 2010

Josie Brackey dives for the ball while Morgan Fjelstad watches Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. -- Andrew Dyrdal/Albert Lea Tribune

Lake Mills swept by WC in state title match

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — After a perfect start to the Class 2A state tournament, the Lake Mills Bulldogs volleyball team ran into the most storied program in Iowa state history — the Western Christian Wolfpack.

Lindy Pins (3), Catherine Adams (5), Morgan Fjelstad (8) and Abbey Honsey (9) help hoist the Lake Mills volleyball team’s state runner-up trophy Saturday after falling 3-0 to Western Christian in the Class 2A title match. Lake Mills swept Pella Christian and Mediapolis to earn a spot in their first-ever state championship match. -- Andrew Dyrdal/Albert Lea Tribune

The No. 6 Bulldogs (45-2) pushed the No. 1 Wolfpack (47-3) to the brink in the first set, but couldn’t hold on to leads of 10-3 and 23-21 as Western Christian notched their 14th title in school history.

The Wolfpack won 28-26, 25-16, 25-12.

“We weren’t kidding anybody,” Lake Mills head coach Jim Boehmer said. “We had to come out and put a lot into that first game. That just took a lot out of us.”

After Josie Brakey’s kill put Lake Mills ahead 23-21 in the first set, the Wolfpack went on a 3-0 run and had set point.

The teams traded points but the Bulldogs were never able to regain the lead before falling 28-26.

The physically and emotionally exhausting first set, and a slow start to the second, kept the Bulldogs down for the remainder of the match.

“If we could have stole the first game it would have been a whole different night,” Boehmer said.

The loss ended Lake Mills’ first state tournament appearance since 2001. Prior to this season, the Bulldogs had never won a match at the state tournament, but opened this year’s by sweeping Pella Christian and Mediapolis.

Brackey led the Bulldogs with 12 kills in the championship match.