Cardinals top Indians to advance

It was definitely a treat for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura volleyball team as they advanced in the Class 3A, Region 1 Semifinal on Halloween night, Thursday, Oct. 31.  The

 Cardinals came out on top of a five set thriller over Forest City.

This wasn’t the first time the Cards and the Indians squared off this season.  Forest City topped GHV to claim the North Iowa Conference Tournament title.  But Thursday was the Cardinal’s night for redemption.

Forest City claimed the first game, 25-23.  The second game was just as close with GHV winning that one, 25-22.  The Indians bounced back to take the third game, 25-19.  The Cards took the last two games and a chance to continue their season with victories of 25-20 and 15-10.

“Both teams played with a great deal of heart and passion,” said Coach Kelsey Steffens.  “The girls stayed focused and disciplined and were able to execute in game five.”

Setter Courtney Younge, who had 47 assists, did a great job of finding her hitters.  Emily Mathews led GHV’s deep pool of solid hitters, with 27 kills.  Mackenzie Van Gerpen and Shelby Rayhons contributed 11 and 10 kills respectively.  Hannah Lau had eight kills.

Rayhons led the team in digs with nine.  Miranda Frederick had eight digs, while Emily Spillman and Mallory Van Oort had seven apiece.

Younge led the team at the service line with 18 points and three aces on serve.  Rayhons had 14 points and Frederick collected eight points on serve.

The Cards had a total of 12 blocks on the night, with Mathews accounting for four and Lau three.

The Cardinals, 26-7, faced number two Sheldon on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Estherville.  Results will be available in next week’s edition of the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter.