WILLMAR -- Behind 21 kills from Hannah Smith and 15 from Jena Thompson, Willmar got back on the winning track as the Cardinals beat Fergus Falls 25-9, 20-25, 25-13, 25-13 in a Central Lakes Conference volleyball match Thursday.
Willmar won for the fourth time in its last five matches to improve to 3-1 in the conference and 7-3 overall. The Cardinals had won three straight matches before losing their last match of the Marshall Invitational this past weekend.
The Cardinals had eight players get at least one kill. Alex Lippert followed Smith and Thompson with nine kills.
After holding the Otters (1-3, 1-6) to under 10 points in the opening game, Willmar's attack wasn't as accurate in the second game. But the Cardinals gave up only 13 points in each of the final two games to pick up another victory.
"We were much better of putting the ball away," said Willmar coach Terrin DeBoer. "We were struggling a little, but our passing was good again and that gave the girls opportunities for good sets and to put the ball away."
ADVERTISEMENT
The Cardinals also fared well at the service line picking up 11 ace serves. Jennie Mattison led the team with five and Smith added four more. Mattison also had 26 set assists and Thompson four ace blocks.
Willmar 3, Fergus Falls 1
Fergus Falls 9 25 13 13
Willmar 25 20 25 25
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Fergus Falls
Statistics not available
Willmar
ADVERTISEMENT
Serving: Jennie Mattison 16-18-5, Hannah Smith 12-15-4, Laura Swartz 19-21-0, Addy Nelsen 11-11-1, Shae Bruess 18-18-1, Jena Thompson 6-7-0, Karlee Johnson 1-1-0, Hailey Vreeman 1-1-0 ... Setting: Mattison 69-70-26, Nelson 34-35-17, Sara Banks 4-5-3, Vreeman 3-3-0, Alex Lippert 4-4-1 ... Hitting: Smith 36-42-21, Lindsey Atchison 10-14-2, Thompson 27-32-15, Swartz 4-6-1, Lippert 19-23-9, Mattison 4-4-1, Taylor Flegel 4-4-2, Katie Lippert 1-1-1 ... Blocking (aces): Thompson 4, Swartz 1, A. Lippert 2, Smith 2, Atchison 1, K. Lippert 1 ... Digs: Thompson 4, Swartz 5, A. Lippert 3, Banks 3, Smith 11, Atchison 3, Johnson 8, Bruess 8, Mattison 11, Nelsen 5
