ADAMS – Lyle/Pacelli played LeRoy-Ostrander twice Saturday in the Southland Volleyball Invitational.

Monday, September 20, 1999

ADAMS – Lyle/Pacelli played LeRoy-Ostrander twice Saturday in the Southland Volleyball Invitational. L/P won the first match in the first round of pool play, but the Cardinals won the second time to take the consolation title.

The champion of the tourney was Mabel-Canton. The Cougars defeated Dover-Eyota, 9-15, 15-11, 15-13. Southland took seventh.

L/P and L-O were in the Red Pool. L/P defeated L-O 15-12, 15-9 in round one. L/P was then defeated 15-10, 15-6 by Alden-Conger. In the final round, Dover-Eyota, led by big middle hitter Emily Eichman, beat L/P 15-7, 15-13.

"I was a little disappointed in our result," L/P coach Norm Blaser said. "We didn’t play up to our potential. We served well but didn’t pass the ball well. We came in to the tournament with a 2-1 record. I was hoping to come out with a 5-3 or 6-2 mark. I was also hoping to play Mabel-Canton. Their coach, Lonnie Morken, and I are pretty good friends. We have been in a number of tournaments together the last three or four years but have never gotten to play each other."

In the consolation semifinals, L/P played Rushford-Peterson. They fell behind 14-6 in game one, but then rallied to win 16-14. R-P then forced a third game with a 15-13 win in game two. L/P answered in game three with a decisive 15-1 victory to win the match.

The Cardinals also went 1-2 in pool play. They lost their second match of the day, 15-8, 15-13 to Dover-Eyota, before defeating Alden-Conger 15-10, 15-8. L-O then defeated Southland in the consolation semifinals to set up the rematch with L/P.

L-O won in two games 15-13, 15-6.

"We grabbed an early lead in each game," Blaser said, "but we were tired. We lost our legs. The kids tried hard, but it’s hard to drive the ball hard without legs. The difference in the match was 6-foot-2 Lindsay Mensink. She doesn’t have to jump much to drive the ball over the net."

Statistical highlights for the tournament for L/P were Laura Nelson with 21 kills, Joan Sheedy with 17, and Kassie Baldner with 16. Melissa Ehret was 44-of-44 serving. Ehret was also the leader in digs.

"Ehret is an all-around player," Blaser said. "She is an outstanding digger."

Tourney host Southland came oh-so-close to making it to the championship bracket. The Rebels started the day dropping two games to Mabel-Canton, 15-8, 15-6. They came back to beat Rushford-Peterson 15-8, 15-12.

Southland took the court against Medford with second place on the line in the Blue Pool. Things looked very good for the Rebels when they won the first game 15-12 and took a 7-1 lead in game two. The momentum changed dramatically, however, with the Tigers behind the attacking and blocking of Megan Krohe winning 14 of the next 16 points to win 15-9. The big comeback moved Medford in to the championship bracket with more points won in the match.

Southland went on to take seventh place with a 15-12, 15-12 win over R-P.

Lyle/Pacelli (4-4, 1-0) has two Southeast Conference West Division matches this week. On Tuesday, they host Fillmore Central. Then they meet up once again with the Cardinals when they travel to LeRoy on Thursday. Before that match, LeRoy-Ostrander (8-6, 2-0) once again travels to Adams on Tuesday. Tuesday’s match is Southland’s only contest of the week.

Southland Tournament

Championship

Mabel-Canton def. Dover-Eyota 9-15, 15-11, 15-13

Third Place

Alden-Conger def. Medford 15-10, 15-5

Fifth Place

LeRoy-Ostrander def. Lyle/Pacelli 15-13, 15-6

Seventh Place

Southland def. Rushford-Peterson 15-12, 15-12