The Blue Devils are fast, tall, can jump high and are just plain tough to defend on the volleyball court. Their unblemished record is a testimony to this. Thursday night, the Blue Devils took on the Stevensville Lady Yellowjackets.
Corvallis coach Kasey Arceniega said Stevensville always gives them a great game. “I told them ‘They are going to come out and they’re going to work hard,’ and they did.”
Although the scores of the games do not reflect it, Stevensville challenged the Blue Devils every chance they could and had some nice plays that put the Blue Devils on their toes. Kyla Paulsen, a recent UM Western volleyball signee, had three blocks and four kills.
However the Blue Devils adjusted their play and came right back at Stevensville. They finished with 36 kills, 10 of them by Joanna Avery. Arceniega said her team was playing well together and keeping their composure.
With the Southwest A Divisional just a week away, the team is focused and working on speeding up their offense even more. Arceniega said that when they can, when the match is well in hand, they do try new and different plays. “Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.”
She went on to say she felt the team was where she wanted them to be at this point of the season. ” The challenge is to stay poised and deal with the pressure because there is a little bit of pressure, I mean we’re at the top of our conference and the tournament is here at home. Everybody’s going to play their best games against us.”
Corvallis def. Stevensville, 25-14, 25-15, 25-14.
Kills – Stevensville 13 (Katie Malachinski 4, MacKinzie Zimmerman 4, Kyla Paulson 4), Corvallis 36 (Joanna Avery 10). Blocks – Stevensville 5 (Paulson 3), Corvallis 0. Digs – Stevensville 39 (Carly Vercruyssen 8), Corvallis 48 (Alex Price 12). Assists – Stevensville 12 (Megan Elam 9), Corvallis 29 (Price 17). Aces – Stevensville 4 (Emalie Lewis 2), Corvallis 9 (Chantel Jessop 3).
Hamilton defeated Stevensville in five games on Saturday. Shannon Casale had 21 digs and five aces for the Lady Broncs. Mackinzie Zimmerman had seven of Stevensville’s 15 blocks and Paulsen had 13 kills.
Hamilton def. Stevensville, 25-22, 9-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-8.
Kills – Stevensville 44 (Kyla Paulsen 13), Hamilton 41 (Penny Gwynn 19). Blocks – Stevensville 15 (Mackinzie Zimmerman 7), Hamilton 3 (Emarie Majors 2). Digs – Stevensville 93 (Kyla Paulsen 26), Hamilton 71 (Shannon Casale 21). Assists – Stevensville 34 (Megan Elam 18), Hamilton 36 (Makayla Horvath 30). Aces – Stevensville 3 (Lizzy Whitesell), Hamilton 16 (Casale 5).
The undefeated Lady Falcons of Florence continued to roll through the conference, topping St. Ignatius in three games. They will host the divisional seeding tournament this Saturday.
Florence def. St. Ignatius, 25-9, 25-5, 25-18.
Kills – St. Ignatius 13 (Emilie Charlo 4), Florence 31 (Megan Kowalski 11). Blocks – St. Ignatius 4 (Kaylee Durglo 2), Florence 1 (Brittnie Heffner). Digs – St. Ignatius 37 (Shania Dubois 10), Florence 47 (Kristyne Drozdz 15). Assists – St. Ignatius 8 (Durglo 6), Florence 30 (Rylie Hawkins 29). Aces – St. Ignatius 2 (Courtney Charlo 2), Florence 17 (Drozdz 5, Megan Byrne 5).
Darby defeated Victor on Thursday night. The Lady Tigers had six kills from Jessica Campbell and three aces from Sydney Bergren in the match. Victor was led by Amber Ibey’s two blocks. The two teams will be in Philipsburg this weekend for the District 9C volleyball tournament.
Darby def. Victor, 25-22, 25-11, 25-12.
Kills – Victor 3 (na), Darby 16 (Jessica Campbell 6). Blocks – Victor 3 (Amber Ibey 2), Darby 8 (Campbell 3, Lauren Dolcater 3). Digs – Victor 20 (Michaela Portner 9), Darby 2. Assists – Victor 4 (Payton Tillotson 2), Darby 16 (Sydney Bergren 9). Aces – Victor 6 (na), Darby 8 (Bergren 3).