WILLMAR -- Willmar got off to a slow start but went on to bomb Brainerd 19-25, 25-12, 25-13, 25-15 in Central Lakes Conference volleyball on Thursday.
Jena Thompson delivered 19 kills and five ace blocks to lead the Cardinals. Hannah Smith had 16 kills.
Willmar (8-1, 15-6) next hosts Central Lakes Conference-leading Alexandria on Tuesday night. The Cardinals will be looking to avenge their only conference loss, falling in five games on Sept. 8 in Alexandria.
Brainerd dropped to 2-7 in conference and 7-12 overall.
Willmar setters Jennie Mattison and Addy Nelsen had 22 and 13 assists, respectively.
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Back row play was led by Smith with 12 digs, Mattison with eight and Shae Bruess and Nelsen with seven each.
Nelsen also served three aces in 14 attempts.
Willmar 3, Brainerd 1
Brainerd 25 12 13 15
Willmar 19 25 25 25
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Brainerd
No statistics available
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Willmar
Serving: Jennie Mattison 14-17-2, Hannah Smith 15-17-1, Laura Swartz 17-18-1, Addy Nelsen 13-14-3, Shae Bruess 16-16-0, Jena Thompson 9-10-2 ... Setting: Mattison 61-62-22, Nelsen 42-43-13 ... Hitting: Smith 34-41-16, Lindsey Atchison 11-14-4, Thompson 28-31-19, Swartz 5-6-3, Alex Lippert 16-19-5, Mattison 11-12-5, Nelsen 5-5-2 ... Blocking (aces): Thompson 5, Swartz 1, Lippert 2, Smith 1, Atchison 1 ... Digs: Swartz 7, Smith 12, Mattison 8, Nelsen 7, Karlee Johnson 5, Bruess 7
