Bulldogs advance past Saints

Published 10:27 pm Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Kelsea Heintzman of Lake Mills sets the ball for Brianna Smith, left, or Lexi Groe Tuesday against St. Ansgar in the Class 2A Region 6 quarterfinals at Lake Mills. — Lory Groe/For the Albert Lea Tribune

Kelsea Heintzman of Lake Mills sets the ball for Brianna Smith, left, or Lexi Groe Tuesday against St. Ansgar in the Class 2A Region 6 quarterfinals at Lake Mills. — Lory Groe/For the Albert Lea Tribune

The first action of the postseason was reminiscent of the regular season for the No. 8 (2A) Lake Mills volleyball team.

After sweeping 35 of 39 regular-season opponents, the Bulldogs shut out St. Ansgar 3-0 Tuesday in the Class 2A Region 6 quarterfinals at Lake Mills.

Game scores were 25-11, 25-16 and 25-10.

Email newsletter signup

The Bulldogs (39-1 overall) extended their winning streak to 23 matches and snapped St. Ansgar’s three-match winning streak.

The Saints (14-10 overall) swept Newman Catholic in the first round of the regional tournament, while Lake Mills had a first-round bye.

Leading the Bulldogs past St. Ansgar were five hitters with six or more kills. Hailey Borgmeyer led the team with eight, and Lexi Groe had seven. Madison Shifflett, Brianna Smith and Cede Byrnes added six each.

Byrnes also led Lake Mills with four ace serves. Kelsea Heintzman posted a team-high 29 assists, and Emily Orban led the back row with 12 digs.

The Bulldogs need two more wins to qualify for state.

Next, Lake Mills will play Nashua-Plainfield (22-10 overall) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Manly.

During the regular season, the Bulldogs swept Nashua-Plainfield 2-0 on Oct. 13 in tournament play by scores of 25-22 and 25-22.

Nashua-Plainfield qualified for the semifinals with a 3-1 home win Tuesday over Central Springs after a first-round bye.

Still alive in the other half of the bracket are No. 9 Sumner-Fredericksburg (28-3 overall) and South Winneshiek (15-21 overall).