Lennox defeats Tea, Belle Fourche and Mount Vernon
By Anne Homan,
Sports Reporter
(Above) Ella Grengs and Ashlee Sweeter fight to keep the ball alive during the September 10 Lennox Invite.
On Saturday, Sept. 10, the Lennox High School volleyball team hosted the Lennox Invite and came away as the Invite Champions, defeating Tea Area 2-0, Belle Fourche 2-1, and Mount Vernon 2-0.
“We played great this weekend. The girls showed what we can look like when we put it all together and are having fun and just playing the game,” said LHS head coach Tammy Adney. “We talked about controlling what happens on our side of the net which we did. We had a few dips here and there, but we continued to believe in one another and played hard until the end.”
To open the Invite the Orioles faced off against Tea Area and swept the Titans getting the 25-9 and 25-23 wins.
For Lennox, Dani Highum finished the game with five digs, one ace, nine kills, and one assist. Kyah Jackson added seven digs, had four kills and led in assists with 15. Ella Grengs finished with two digs, four kills, and ten assists. Carli Kuyper finished with five kills. Addison Martz had six kills and three digs. Lilly Meyer finished with six digs and two aces, Ashlee Sweeter had seven digs and Kate Jackson finished with two aces.
Against Belle Fourche, Lennox dropped the first match 27-29 before reeling off two wins in a row, 25-17, 25-16.
Highum finished the game with six digs, one ace, 13 kills and one block. Kyah Jackson finished with 13 digs, seven aces, seven kills, one block assist 19 set assists. Ella Grengs had seven digs, four kills, and 12 assists. Kuyper finished with two kills, two blocks and two digs. Martz finished with five kills and three digs. Sweeter had nine digs, Kate Jackson ten digs and four aces, and Meyer finished with nine digs, three aces, and one kill.
In the final game of the day, Lennox defeated Mt. Vernon winning 26-24 and 25-17 for the sweep.
Highum had 12 digs and nine kills. Kyah Jackson finished with 15 assists, four kills, 11 digs, and three aces. Grengs had three digs, one ace, four kills and ten assists. Kuyper had five kills. Martz finished with four digs and six kills. Sweeter provided two digs, one aces, and one kill. Meyer finished with eight digs and Kate Jackson provided one.
The Junior Varsity Orioles also found success at the Lennox Invite, defeating Tea Area (25-22, 25-15) and Belle Fourche (25-21 25-19). The JV team fell to Mt. Vernon (26-24 25-18).
“The girls played great together and really worked well as a team,” said Adney. “They hustled and made sure that there were not many balls that dropped without a body going after it. They had a great Saturday as well.”
Prior to the Lennox Invite, the Orioles took on Madison on Thursday, Sept. 8 and Tea Area in Tea on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
“It was a big week. First the great win over Tea on Tuesday,” said Adney.
“Had a hard-fought battle in Madison, came up short. Then turned around and had three games in this tournament. I think we learned a lot and will continue to grow as the season continues.”
Against Madison, the Lennox varsity lost 1-3 (17-25, 28-26, 22-25 and 21-25).
“We were really flat this game and never really played our game. We struggled with errors which is what cost us this game,” said Adney. “We need to stop trading points and go on some runs and string some more points together. The team is working on it and know it is something we need to keep trying to improve.”
Highum led the team in digs with 22 digs. She also had one ace and nine kills. Martz finished with ten kills, one block assist, and three digs.
Kyah Jackson had 14 digs, one ace, a team-high 21 assists, and eight kills. Grengs finished with six kills, six digs, one ace and 20 assists. Kuyper had one block, nine kills and one dig. Sweeter finished with 18 digs and had one ace. Kate Jackson had ten digs and one ace and Meyer provided eight digs and had one ace against Madison.
Against Tea Area, Lennox won the battle 3-2 (28-26, 25-11 18-25, 21-25 15-7).
“Tea is such a big rival that it was great to beat them. I know I always look ahead at the schedule as to when we will meet up with them,” said Adney. “It was very satisfying to pull out the win.”
Highum had 12 kills, 10 digs, one block, and four aces against the Titans. Kuyper finished with nine kills and two blocks. Martz had three kills. Grengs finished with ten kills, 11 assists, nine digs, one block, and two aces. Kyah Jackson finished with four kills, 15 assists, nine digs, and two aces. Sweeter had three aces and 19 digs. Kate Jackson finished with eight digs and one ace. Lilly Meyer had 11 digs and five aces and Annika Kollis finished with two blocks, one dig, and four kills.