Game 1 vs. Hawkeye
The #17 Loggers came out fast against Hawkeye Community College in the first match of the 2021 regular season. LLCC started with a Kennedy Bauer ace and two kills from freshman Bella Pasquino to open a quick 4-1 lead. HCC came back to tie it at seven and the two teams remained deadlocked, swapping points until freshman Josie Wolter hit a slide for a kill and a 17-16 lead. It widened with an Emily Veach ace to 20-16 and after the two sides traded points to 23-19, sophomore Macey Hynes ended things with consecutive aces. Unfortunately, the next three sets didn't go the Loggers way as unforced errors derailed the team in the second and third sets, accounting for 23 of Hawkeye's 50 points. "If we don't put the ball where the opponent has to play it, it's hard to win," Coach Dietz said after the match. The Loggers spun the wheel in the fourth set with an entirely new lineup, but even though Anna Reif tallied an ace to close within one at 7-8, the opponents quickly scored four kills to open a wide margin and an eventual 25-12 final score. "We had nerves since it was the first match. We only have two players on the roster who have played in a 'normal' environment...so we played like it. Everyone has to have a first match and losing to #10 in the country, you learn from it."
Game 2 vs. Bryant & Stratton
In the nightcap, the good guys rebounded behind the strength of libero Kiley Schanuel's eight digs and six aces and a dozen kills from Kennedy Bauer for a straight-sets win: 25-16, 25-23, 25-21. LLCC dominated the first set after a moment of confusion at the scorers table, turning a 9-10 score into a 17-11 lead behind an Emily Veach ace and a Sami Eaker solo-block. LLCC won set point with another Macey Hynes game-winner. In the second set, errors put LLCC in a 3-8 whole before sophomore Katie Gropel scored an ace to bring LLCC within one before LLCC's second run of errors opened a deficit again. Lincoln Land tied it at 18 on two of Schanuel's aces and took the lead for good on an emphatic overpass kill by Carly Michels. In the final set, LLCC fell behind 5-1 on errors before Schanuel again tallied aces to zoom the Loggers back wth seven consecutive points. A Wolter/Pasquino block gave LLCC the lead for good at 14-13 and let Sami Eaker close the game out with three kills in the last six points of the contest.  "We were the same team this match--up and down. Our ups are excellent. We have to sustain those. Now we move on to tomorrow." Dietz said after the match.
#10 Hawkeye defeats LLCC 25-19, 15-25, 18-25, 12-25
#17 LLCC defeats Bryant & Stratton 25-16, 25-23, 25-21
Next: 10am vs. North Iowa Area CC
vs. Hawkeye
Digs: Veach 14, Schanuel 10
Aces: Veach 2, Hynes 2
Blocks: Wolter 2, Michels 2, Hudspeth 2, Eaker 2
Assists: Veach 25, Lobb 5
Kills: Pasquino 11, Wolter 8
vs. B & S
Digs: Bauer 9, Schanuel 8
Aces: Schanuel 6, Veach 2
Blocks: Pasquino 3, Wolter 2
Assists: Veach 21, Lobb 6
Kills: Bauer 12, Eaker 6
