The Blue Earth Area Buccaneer volleyball team faced a slow start to their season Tuesday night when they played against the Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial Knights.
The Knights were quick to take the lead and won three matches in a row, 25-12, 25-5 and 25-16.
“LCWM has a very nice team this year,”?Buc coach Donna Nawrocki says.
They certainly proved that point as the game started out in the Knights’ favor right away. They scored the first several points, with control of the ball staying in their hands.
The Bucs stayed determined throughout the first game of the match and carried out some decent volleys with their opponents.
However, LCWM took the first game by a score of 25-12.
The second game of the match was a speedy loss for the Bucs. The Knights powered ahead by eight points before allowing the Bucs to score.
Audrey McDonald managed a dig which ended the Knights run on points and cut the score to 8-1.
The Bucs possession of the ball was short lived and the Knights continued to outscore them.
That game ended quickly with a score of 25-5 but the girls in maroon and gold were able to put up more of a fight in the third game.
The last game of the match started off with LCWM at the service line. The first four serves resulted in Knight points.
Then a LCWM serve couldn’t quite clear the net which gave the Bucs a chance to serve.
McDonald hit the ball at the net which a Knights player attempted to block. The block hit the floor and gave the Bucs a point, putting the score at 6-2.
A couple nice volleys kept the Bucs in the game as long as they could, and errors made by LCWM helped them prolong the game as well.
However, the Knights wrapped the night up with a 25-16 win.
“This game was a good starting point for us,”?Nawrocki says.
She hopes the girls can use each game as a stepping stone to improve upon as the season progresses.
“We look to get comfortable in new roles and find leadership on the court,”?the Buc coach explains.
McDonald was 8 for 9 serving and scored four service points for the Bucs. She also had four digs and five kills.
Nicole Krinke had nine set assists for BEA and managed seven digs.
Haley Resutek was under the ball for the Bucs managing a total of nine digs.
The Bucs loss against the Knights gives them an overall record of 0-1. They played Le Sueur-Henderson on Friday after the Register deadline. Results of the match will be in the next issue.