LLCC defeats McHenry CC 26-24, 11-25, 25-20, 25-18
LLCC defeats #20 Carl Sandburg 25-19, 25-15, 15-25, 22-25, 15-7
GAME ONE:
LLCC started the second day of the Parkland Halloween Bash against McHenry Community College. It was a match where neither team found itself able to get on a roll. In the first set, Logger aces paved the way to a 26-24 victory but the second set saw a combination of Logger errors and McHenry blocking lead to eleven consecutive points, blowing open a 7-7 tie to a 18-7 MCC advantage. Behind the strength of their outside hitters, McHenry wound up with a 25-11 win. The two teams exchanged errors for the first six points of set three and were tied at sevens when two Annika Black kills gave LLCC a lead. McHenry tied it again at 10 with two aces. At 13 all, two Sami Eaker kills were followed by two Mary Hill aces to open a four point lead. McHenry tied it again at 19, but a key dig by Molly Ashbaugh and a kill by Ashley Melton reopened the Logger lead which led to a 25-20 win. In the final set, Lincoln Land sprinted to an early lead behind blocking led by Ashley Melton 5-2. McHenry closed the distance but behind solid defense by Taylor Thomas and Natalie Bates, LLCC reopened the game to 11-7, building it to a seven-point margin behind a pair of Ashley Melton blocks, one with Kate Volk, the other with Annika Black. A run of kills by Mary Hill kept the margin at 7 for the final victory at 25-18. "I thought both teams struggled," Coach Dietz said afterwards. "I think the key for us was the serving of Mary Hill [who had 5 aces] and some big swings to sideout for Annika Black."
GAME ONE STATS:
vs. McHenry
Digs: Bauer 14, Bates 11, Thomas 11
Aces: Hill 5, Volk 2
Blocks:Melton 3, Eaker 2, Black 2
Assists: Volk 30
Kills: Black 11, Melton 6
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GAME TWO:
The final contest for LLCC was against Carl Sandburg College. The Loggers started strong, winning the first two sets quickly behind a balanced attack all along the net. "That was key for us and we went away from it in the middle two sets. We went back to a balanced attack in the fifth set and that got our rhythm back," Coach Dietz said. The third and fourth sets saw Sandburg come back behind the strong offense of their all-American candidate Peyton Bowman. Sent to a fifth set, the Loggers came out swinging, building a 5-1 lead behind an ace by Mary Hill and two blocks by Ashley Melton. LLCC was able to keep a five point lead through the switch of sides to 10-5 before two kills, a block, and an ace gave Lincoln Land a commanding 14-7 lead with the contest finished off with a Sami Eaker kill.
GAME TWO STATS:
vs. Carl Sandburg
Digs: Bates 18, Bauer 17
Aces: Hill 3, 3 tied w/1
Blocks: Eaker 5, Melton 3, Black 3
Assists: Volk 56
Kills: Black 16, Eaker 14
**Volk's 56 assists is her fifth such performance. That is a single-season record and ties for most in a career.
LLCC is now 30-14 and heads to Mineral Area College Tuesday for two contests in Missouri.
