WILLMAR -- The Willmar volleyball team thoroughly throttled Sauk Rapids in a "totally awesome" Central Lakes Conference match during 'Back to the '80s' Night Tuesday.
The Cardinals (5-1, 9-4), wearing retro jerseys from a 1980s Cardinal team, kept the Storm (2-4, 8-8) under 15 points in each game, winning 25-12, 25-14, 25-14.
"The girls played really consistent, which we haven't done lately," said Willmar coach Terrin DeBoer. "We passed well and dug up a lot of their hits."
The Cardinals pounded the ball with precision, recording just eight hitting errors. Hannah Smith had 11 kills in 25-of-26 attacks, Jena Thompson followed with eight kills in 23-of-25 attacks and Alex Lippert added seven kills in 14-of-16 attacks.
"We hit a lot better than in the past. Our hitters did a nice job of finding open spots on the floor," DeBoer said.
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Lippert led the team with three ace blocks. Thompson served three aces, Jennie Mattison had 14 assists in 41 errorless attempts and Karlee Johnson had 13 digs.
Nikki Kothenbeutel hadd 10 kills to lead Sauk Rapids, which was short three starters due to illness or injury.
Willmar travels to Little Falls Thursday, then will host the Willmar Invite Saturday.
Willmar 3, Sauk Rapids 0
Sauk Rapids 12 14 14
Willmar 25 25 25
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Sauk Rapids
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Serving (aces): Kayla Hiscock 1 ... Setting (assists): Anita McLaird 20 ... Hitting (kills): Hiscock 4, Nikki Kothenbeutel 10 ... Blocking (aces): Cori Becker 2 ... Digs: Kothenbeutel 11, McLaird 14, Hiscock 10
Willmar
Serving: Jennie Mattison 13-14-0, Liz Smith 16-17-1, Lauren Swartz 8-8-0, Addy Nelsen 9-9-0, Shae Bruess 7-7-0, Jena Thompson 12-12-3, Casey Marcus 1-1-0, Hailey Vreeman 1-1-0 ... Setting: Mattison 41-41-14, Nelsen 23-25-7, Vreeman 4-5-2 ... Hitting: Smith 25-26-11, Lindsey Atchison 9-11-3, Thompson 23-25-8, Alex Lippert 14-16-7, Sara Banks 4-5-3, Mattison 3-3-1, Nelsen 5-5-2, Taylor Flegel 1-1-0 ... Blocking (aces): Thompson 2, Swartz 2, Lippert 3 ... Digs: Swartz 5, Banks 3, Smith 11, Atchison 3, Mattison 7, Nelsen 11, Karlee Johnson 13, Bruess 10
