GHEC/T/ML falls to St. Clair in three sets
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TRUMAN - St. Clair used their serves as a weapon against Granada Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther on Monday night. The Cyclones collected 14 aces en route to their three-set sweep over the Jaguars - 25-15, 25-14, 25-11 - in Truman.
Addison Barrick led the Jaguars in aces and set assists with three and 11, respectively. Kyana Thomas notched a team-high five kills, while Willow Singleton saw 17 digs from her Libero position. Meredith Miller recorded three blocks.
"Our energy level was high today, which was great to see," GHEC/T/ML head coach TJ Williams said. "We can struggle at times with that serve receive. ...It's just something we've been working on all season long. Just not quite there yet, but that's alright. It takes time."
Aces from Haddie Jobe and Charlotte Dauk set the tone for St. Clair's early 12-4 lead in set one. Three more service points from Dauk gave the Cyclones their biggest lead at 22-11. The Jaguars cut it to eight after Thomas recorded a right-side kill before Hannah Gibson had an ace of her own and an overhand spike. But Khloe Linde's left-side hit down ended the set for St. Clair.
GHEC/T/ML started both sets two and three with early leads. Set two had the Jaguars up 6-0 after three Barrick aces and a block from Miller over the middle. The Cyclones responded with nine straight points, with Payton Blount, Aleya Loeslie, and Hannah Brekke each getting a powerful kill that kept the rally running.
Another six-point burst pushed St. Clair up further to 17-9. Kills from Thomas and Elsy Johnson displayed some nice passing within the Jaguar offense, cutting the deficit to seven, but one more strong run of points finished the set in the Cyclones’ favor. Blount put on the finishing touches with a kill from the left side.
Four straight GHEC/T/ML points to start set three helped take an early 5-3 edge. Barrick and Johnson highlighted this run with a dig over the net and an ace that generated a few points. St. Clair posted a typical answer for the way they were playing on Monday night, responding with eight straight points of their own to regain the momentum. Stella Brekke showed her middle hitter prowess with three spikes during this span.
The Jaguars cut things to five after taking advantage of two Cyclone errors at the net. That was the closest they came the rest of the way, however. St. Clair finished set three scoring six of the remaining eight points.
GHEC/T/ML will continue the season this Thursday with a home match against Nicollet in Truman. The match is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. It will be the Jaguars’ final home game of the regular season.