Cardinals roll through competition

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura volleyball picked up two wins and capped the week by making it to the semi-finals in the Belmond-Klemme tournament on Saturday.

GHV 3, Belmond-Klemme 0

The Cardinals traveled to Belmond-Klemme on Tuesday, Sept. 6, where they swept the Broncos in three games.

The first game was all GHV, as they won easily, 25-15.  The Cardinals had to earn the second game in a close 26-24 bout.  The third game was also close, but GHV prevailed, 25-23.

“The girls played with grit and were able to push points to finish out sets two and three,” said Coach Kelsey Steffens.  “They were able to keep their energy up and that helped them finish strong.”

Hannah Lau led the team at the net and on defense.  She recorded 12 kills and one block and she had seven digs.  She also contributed two ace serves.

Mackenzie Van Gerpen also had a good game, with 12 kills, four digs, two blocked shots and three ace serves.

Carlie Knutson contributed five kills and six digs.

Taylor Gerdes was strong at the service line with five ace serves.

Bailee Frayne led the team in assists with 23.

“We do need to work on cleaning up our defense and turn the opponents’ attack into an offense,” said Steffens.

GHV 3, Bishop Garrigan 2

It was a long night for the Cardinals when they hosted Bishop Garrigan on Thursday, Sept. 8.  It took all five games, but GHV prevailed in the see-saw match-up with the Golden Bears.

The Cardinals claimed the first game, 25-19.  Bishop Garrigan came back with a vengeance and topped GHV in the second game, 25-14.  Not to be out done, the Cardinals pounded the Golden Bears in the third game, 25-12.  Once again B-G rallied in the fourth game to win, 25-17.  The Cardinals won the final game, 15-9, to claim the victory.

“When the girls can bring their enthusiasm we have great potential for the year,” said Coach Kelsey Steffens.

Leading the team at the net was Hannah Lau and Mackenzie Van Gerpen with 15 and 14 kills respectively. Carlie Knutson added five, while Taylor Gerdes had four kills. Setting up a majority of the kills was Bailee Frayne with 25 assists.

Van Gerpen led the team in digs with 14, followed by Knutson with nine and Lau with eight.  Jackie Van Oort contributed four digs and Frayne had three.

Picking up two ace serves apiece were Frayne and Lau.

Lau also had three blocked shots, while Frayne, Van Oort, Van Gerpen and Gerdes had one apiece.

“We need to continue to clean up our coverage on defense and execute on free balls,” said Steffens.

Belmond-Klemme Tournament

The Cardinals put up some good fights during the Belmond-Klemme volleyball tournament held on Saturday, Sept. 12.  GHV picked up three wins, before falling to North Butler in the semi-finals.

The Cards opened the tournament with 2-0 win over West Hancock.  GHV beat the Eagles easily with scores of 21-14 and 21-13.

Mackenzie Van Gerpen led the way at the net with nine kills.  Hannah Lau and Carlie Knutson recorded five and four kills respectively.

Bailee Frayne led in assists with 16.

Picking up two digs apiece was Frayne, Knutson and Lau.

Jackie Van Oort and Taylor Gerdes each recorded two ace serves.

West Fork was the next opponent the Cardinals faced.  GHV won the first game, 21-15.  The Warhawks captured an easy second game victory, 21-13, before the Cards kicked it up a notch in the third game to win, 15-9.

Lau dominated at the net, with six kills and four blocked shots.  She also recorded three digs and two ace serves.  Van Oort also had a good match with four kills, three digs and one ace serve.

Knutson led the team in digs with seven, while Frayne recorded five digs and dished out 15 assists.

The Cardinals had their best match of the year against Iowa Falls-Alden.  After being down 1-8 in the first set, the Cardinals battled back to claim the 21-15 victory.  The second game was a close one, but GHV prevailed with a 22-20 win and a chance to advance to the semi-finals.

“The girls’ energy and focus remained constant throughout the match and that helped them to fight back after being down in the first set,” said Coach Kelsey Steffens.

Frayne led the team in assists with 20.  She also recorded four digs, one block and two ace serves.

Knutson led the team in digs with eight.  She also had three kills.

Lau and Van Gerpen led at the net with nine and seven kills respectively.  They each contributed five digs and Lau had one blocked shot.

GHV faced North Butler in the semi-finals. The Cardinals fought hard, but lost in three games.  The Bearcats claimed the first game, 25-14.  The Cards bounced back to pick up a 25-17 win in the second game, before falling in the third game, 15-13.

Leading the team in kills was Van Gerpen with 11, followed by Lau with nine and Knutson knocked down seven.

Van Oort led the team on defense with eight digs.  Knutson, Lau and Van Gerpen all had seven apiece.

Van Oort recorded three ace serves.