Alden-Conger volleyball defeats Springfield in Section 2A action

 

ALDEN — The Alden-Conger volleyball team hosted Springfield Thursday night in the second round of the Section 2A tournament, after receiving a bye in the first round.

Despite the Tigers hanging around for a while in each set, they were no match for the offensive firepower of the Knights — who cruised to a three-set victory.

The first set was relatively close early on with the Knights getting out to a small 7-5 lead, but then came sophomore Abbie Theusch to the net. Theusch hit two kills almost back-to-back, the second of which rocked the Tigers defensively. Senior Erika Bute was also unstoppable at the net, recording seven kills in the first set alone and setting up her teammates for plenty more. Junior Mikenna Erickson was a key part of the Knights’ late rally with several big kills and blocks.

The Knights ended the first set on a 15-4 run to win 25-10.

The second set played out much like the first, but this time it was Springfield that took an early 8-7 lead. Bute then led a serving rally of nine straight points to bust the set wide open. Theusch continued her dominance at the net, recording nine kills in the second set and bringing her match total to 14. Senior Megan Linn had two momentous kills to put Alden-Conger over the top, 25-14.

The third set was all Knights. After allowing the Tigers to take a 5-4 lead, the Knights sprung into yet another rally and went on an 11-3 run. The Tigers made a small comeback attempt, but the margin was too big to overcome. Linn capped the win off with a resounding kill that bounced the Tigers out of the playoffs.

Theusch led the team with 19 kills in the match, and Bute was second with 11.

The Knights climb to 24-3-1 on the season and advance to the sub-section semifinals, where they will meet St. Clair on Tuesday in St. Peter.