LaVille takes HNAC thriller over Knox
LAKEVILLE, IN. – The varsity volleyball team played host to Hoosier North Athletic Conference foe Knox at Dale E. Cox Gymnasium.
LaVille started strong, winning the first two sets, 25-11 and 25-14.
The visiting Redskins, however, rallied for a 25-23 victory in the third set.
The Lancers finished off the HNAC opener with a 25-15 victory in the fourth and final set and a 3-1 victory.
Rebekah Beehler led the offense with a career-high 19 kills.
“Knox has always been a good competitor for us,” said Beehler. “Last year was the first time in, I think, four years that we had beaten Knox, so it was a good game. We expected them to show up again tonight and we wanted to bring our A-game. I think it’s a good idea to get off to a good start in the conference. This gives us the confidence to go on and we know that we are going to have a lot of challenging conference games. This just gives us the head start to be 1-0 in the conference. We know what is coming in the conference and we have to defend what we have.”
Beehler who started the 2020 season with a season-high 12 kills against Elkhart Christian Academy was effusive with her praise of her teammates who helped her achieve a new kill mark.
“That is exciting,” said Beehler of her career-high attacking. “I really have to thank our passers and our setters. If our passers weren’t on then our setters wouldn’t be on and if our setters weren’t on, then our hitters would be off. We had some great sets tonight. I have a shout out to Syd (Coblentz), Alaina (Kertai), Abby (Goffinet), and Jaidyn (Medina). Also a shout out to our back row Zoey (Thomas) . . . she has been doing really good this year. It’s been a fun game. The sets were amazing.”
Beehler also recognized the LaVille team played well in the the first two sets, before Knox came roaring back to win set three.
“We did control the tempo, but kind of got down in that third game because we thought we got it now and we didn’t,” explained Beehler. “But we were ready to bring in the fourth game. I think all around our team played better and I think that every one that is on the court or on the bench has so much potential to bring to the court. It’s been so exciting to see our whole team just never give up on a ball.”
Allison Medors added 10 kills and Olivia Goze added nine kills.
The Lancer service game made a strong impact on the match, serving up 19 aces overall. Thomas led the way with five aces, while Kertai and Coblentz chipped in with three aces each.
LaVille spread out the setting duties throughout the match. Coblentz led the way with 20 assists, Kertai added 15 assists, and Medina chipped in with seven.
LaVille improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the HNAC. Knox is 1-5 overall and 0-1 in HNAC play.
LaVille will face Goshen on August 27 at Dale E. Cox Gymnasium. The JV match is scheduled to serve at 6 p.m.
