The MFL MarMac volleyball team improved to 15-7 last week, defeating West Central before going 4-1 and placing second in a tournament at Waukon.
The Bulldogs beat West Central 3-1 in Maynard on Sept. 15, rebounding from a 12-25 opening set loss to take the next three 25-15, 25-19 and 25-15.
“We had a rough start against West Central and really struggled to find our rhythm in the first set. Nothing seemed to be going our way, but I was proud of how the team responded. We did a great job of being resilient, making adjustments and bouncing back to win the next three sets,” said MFL MarMac head coach Becky Johnson. “It was nice to see us settle in and play much better volleyball as the match went on.”
MFL MarMac racked up 42 kills in the match, 16 of them coming from senior Lily Johnson, who reached 500 career kills that night. Sophomore Blair Winter and junior Kambry Keehner each swatted six kills, while sophomore Nora Rasmussen added four.
Junior Addison Corlett paced the offense with 36 assists. She also supported the defense with six digs, helping her reach 500 for her career.
Johnson led the Bulldogs with 12 digs, and Rasmussen, senior Payton McElwaine and junior Kensey Ball each recorded 11. Winter was a force at the net with all four of MFL MarMac’s blocks.
From the service line, the Bulldogs hit just over 90 percent of their attempts, led by a perfect 22-for-22 by Rasmussen, who had one ace. Ball and Johnson each smashed 13 of 15 serves, including a whopping six aces for Johnson. The total brought her to 100 in her career. Corlett had a strong night, making 11 of 12 with an ace, and junior Macy McGeough added one ace on 10-of-11 serving.
“We still have some work ahead of us, especially with tougher competition coming up over the next few weeks,” said Johnson. “We will continue to challenge ourselves in practice, focus on competing at a high level and refine our serve-receive rotations so we are better prepared for those matches.”
Johnson was also excited to celebrate the individual milestones reached in that game.
“These are great milestones and a reflection of the work they have put into our program,” she said.
MFL MarMac wrapped up the week Sept. 19, at the Waukon Tournament, where they opened play with three straight 2-0 sweeps over North Crawford, Waukon and Postville.
The Bulldogs defeated North Crawford by scores of 21-13 and 21-12, supported by another strong serving performance in which they made seven aces. Johnson had four of them and made eight of her nine serves overall. Corlett was a perfect 11-for-11 with two aces.
The offense ran through Corlett’s 14 assists, while Johnson and Keehner each collected five kills and Winter four.
Defensively, Rasmussen topped the digs column with four, followed by Johnson and Corlett with three apiece. The team had no blocks.
The Bulldogs were more tested in game two, edging Waukon 21-19 and 22-20. Winter and Johnson finished the match with a respective six and four kills, while Corlett netted 14 assists.
Ball bolstered the defense with 14 of MFL MarMac’s 34 digs, and Corlett added seven. Winter and Keehner each picked up a block.
Serving was strong again, this time at 97.6 percent. Ball was 8-for-9 with three of the team’s four aces. Johnson was perfect on all nine of her attempts, including an ace, then Corlett was 8-for-8 and Rasmussen 7-for-7.
Next up, the Bulldogs cruised past Postville 25-19 and 25-16. Johnson continued to lead the team at the net, with nine kills, followed by Winter with four and Ashtyn Dundee three. Corlett totaled 21 assists.
With seven digs, Ball led MFL MarMac in that column. Johnson and Corlett each snagged five. Winter contributed a pair of blocks.
Although the Bulldogs’ serve percentage dipped below 86 percent in this match, the team came away with four more aces. Two were from Rasmussen, who hit 11 of 12 serves. Johnson and Corlett had the others on respective 6-of-7 and 6-of-8 performances.
MFL MarMac’s next opponent was Turkey Valley, who stormed back from a 21-11 first set loss to defeat the Bulldogs 22-20 in the second. MFL MarMac pulled out a 15-11 victory in the final frame, taking the match 2-1.
Johnson powered the Bulldog offense with 15 kills, and Winter added eight. Corlett had 30 assists and was one of the team leaders in digs, with 14. Ball topped that category with 18, and Johnson contributed 13 along with a block.
Johnson led MFL MarMac at the service line as well, connecting on all 16 of her attempts, including three aces. Corlett was 12-of-12 with an ace and Rasmussen was a perfect 8-for-8, also with an ace.
The Bulldogs’ lone hiccup came in their final match of the day, where Waukon avenged an earlier loss with a 2-0 sweep by scores of 21-17 and 21-15.
MFL MarMac hit 90.9 percent of serves in this one, but the Indians were even better, making 97.6 percent with six aces. Corlett made all 10 of her serves for the Bulldogs, including an ace. Rasmussen and Winter were each 6-for-6, with Rasmussen recording one ace and Winter two.
Johnson was the team kills leader, at 5, followed by Keehner with four and three apiece by Rasmussen and Winter. Corlett netted 14 of 16 assists and was the top defender with eight digs and a block. Ball picked up six digs.
This week, the Bulldogs played in a triangular at Starmont on Sept. 21, before finally hosting their home opener versus North Fayette Valley on Sept. 22.
