Lions sweep Wolverines

Published 8:54 pm Monday, October 13, 2014

Halee Miller of Glenville-Emmons gets a dig Friday against Schaeffer Academy on Senior Night. — Micah Bader/Albert Lea Tribune

Halee Miller of Glenville-Emmons gets a dig Monday against Schaeffer Academy on Senior Night. — Micah Bader/Albert Lea Tribune

GLENVILLE — Despite taking a 17-game losing streak into its regular season finale, the Glenville-Emmons volleyball team showed it still had fight against a team in the top half of the Southeast Conference standings.

A kill by Anna Severtson tied the first set at 20. However, Schaeffer Academy ended the set with a 5-1 run en route to a 3-0 sweep of the Wolverines Monday on Senior Night.

The first set was back and forth. Glenville-Emmons opened with a 10-8 lead after a pair of missed kill attempts by the Lions. After Schaeffer Academy tied the set at 14, a kill by Madi Ziebell gave the advantage back to the Wolverines.

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“We were serving well, communicating and attacking,” she said. “You can see when we attack we have success.”

The Lions followed a 25-21 win by building a 8-2 lead out of the gates in the second set. The Wolverines cut their deficit to three points with three straight ace serves by Kayla Gerber. But Schaeffer Academy pulled away with an 18-4 run to take a 2-0 lead.

In the third set, the Lions jumped to a 13-3 lead, but the Wolverines shaved their deficit to four points with the serving of Katelyn Nelson before falling 25-14.

“She had some great serves, and she’s been steady for us on year,” coach Ziebell said about Nelson. “Every game she comes up with an ace or two.”

Madi Ziebell led the Wolverines with nine kills, a block and 17 digs. She was 5-for-5 serving. Ziebell and Severtson are the only seniors on the team. Severtson added five kills and 16 digs.

“They’ll be greatly missed,” said coach Ziebell. “Their leadership — they’re heads and tails above the others.”

Coach Ziebell said that having the opportunity to coach her daughter, Madi, was rewarding and that both seniors will be hard to replace.

Schaeffer Academy (11-9 overall, 8-6 Southeast Conference) started the season 0-3 but went 10-6 after that point. Glenville-Emmons won its season-opener against Hope Lutheran but lost the rest of its matches.

Next, the Wolverines (1-18 overall, 1-12 Southeast Conference) will play in the Subsection 1A-West bracket. Coach Ziebell said seeds will be determined Wednesday.