USC volleyball has 3 tough losses
The United South Central volleyball team fell in four sets to Blooming Prairie on Tuesday night, Oct. 12.
“Not our best outing, unfortunately,” coach Joe Kuechenmeister said. “We never really came close to playing how we’re capable of playing, and Blooming Prairie capitalized on that. We certainly tip our hat to them for making the plays, but we’ve got to demand better on our side of the net.”
The scores were 25-23, 18-25, 25-12, 25-13.
Leading the way for USC was Melany Ehlert who had eight kills, seven digs, one block and one ace.
Kendall Harpestad added six kills, four digs and one block, while Kiera Schultz had five kills, three digs and one ace.
“The kids were dealt a certain amount of adversity, having to turn right back around after an emotional match the night before, a different coaching dynamic, and some injuries throughout,” the coach said. “But we’ve got to handle that better than we did.”
Kiera Schultz had five kills, three digs and two blocks, Grace Mithun had three kills, three digs and one ace and Hannah Meyer had two kills.
“Props to Grace Mithun for coming in on the outside and giving us some quality production in a big position,” Kuechenmeister said. “I also credit Ella Kayser for coming in and playing a position she’s not accustomed to out of necessity and doing so without hesitating.”
Other team stats included Molly Wegner with 22 assists, four digs and one kill, Leah Winch with five digs. Erika Johannsen and Ally Stenzel with one dig each.
“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get some things figured out so we can finish the regular season next week with some momentum, despite two tough matches, heading into the postseason,” the coach says.
USC is now 6-15-1 and 3-6 in the Gopher Conference.
Alden-Conger 3, USC 2
So close.
The United South Central Rebels nearly pulled out a hard fought win over rival Alden-Conger on Monday night, Oct. 11, but in the end, the Knights prevailed, winning 3-2.
The scores of the contest were 25-11, 15-25, 25-21, 23-25, 18-16.
“The kids battled hard tonight and nearly pulled out a ‘W’ over a very good team from Alden-Conger,” coach Joe Kuechenmeister said. “Our fight and composure was good tonight and it allowed us to claw back from some deficits at different points of the match.”
The team was led by Melany Ehlert who had 20 kills, 15 digs, one block, four aces and one assist.
“Melany Ehlert had a monster night with her 20 kills and 15 digs, complimented by four aces from behind the service line,” Kuechenmeister said. “She does it all for us and she showed up in a big way on Senior Night.”
Kyllah Curry added 10 kills, nine digs, two blocks, two aces and one assist. Kendall Harpestad had eight kills, 12 digs, one block, one ace and four assists.
Kiera Schultz had four kills, four digs, two blocks and an ace, while Hannah Meyer added three kills and two blocks.
Molly Wegner had 32 assists, 10 digs and two aces, while Leah Winch added six digs and Erika Johannsen had one dig and three aces.
“Win or lose, I want to give a shout out to this Senior Class. They have been in each other’s corner since day one and it’s been fun to see them develop as players and people on and off the court,” the coach said. “While we played our final match at home, I look forward to finishing the season strong with this crew, hoping for a push into the postseason.”
He added that the team has certainly been battle tested this year, as many of their matches have gone the distance.
“We can draw on that experience in crunch time in the weeks to come,” he added. “We won’t be an easy out.”
USC is now 6-14-1, 3-5 in the Gopher Conference.
FBA 3, USC 0
It was a tough night for the United South Central Rebel volleyball team on Thursday, Oct. 7, when they faced the Cardinals from Faribault Bethlehem Academy.
FBA defeated USC 3-0. The scores were 25-9, 25-14, 25-10.
“I credit BA for playing a great match and serving tough, and they forced us out of system all night long,” coach Joe Kuechenmeister said. “If you’re running your offense from behind the 10-foot line, it’s hard to put any pressure on your opponents, and that was unfortunately the case for us.”
Kendall Harpestad led the Rebels with four kills, five digs, one block and one assist. Kiera Schultz had two kills, one dig and one block.
Melany Ehlert, Kyllah Curry, Hannah Meyer, Lexi Johnson and Alix Bushlack all had one kill apiece. Ehlert also had eight digs and one ace, Curry one dig and one block, Meyer one block and one ace and Bushlack two blocks.
Molly Wegner had eight assists and eight digs, while Leah Winch had four digs, Alyson Stenzel one dig and Eleny Korn one assist.
“A plus was the performance of some of the kids who got more time than they typically do, particularly Alix Bushlack,” the coach noted. “We went with Alix at the end of set two because we needed a big presence at the net blocking. She racked up two blocks in her limited time, but did exactly what we asked of her and that was great to see her execute and have some success.”
He added that as a whole, the team will have to regroup for a better performance against rival Alden-Conger in their final home match on Monday, Oct. 11.
The Rebels’ record is now 6-13, 3-5 in the Gopher Conference.