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Cardinal netters go 5-0 after Sept. 2 triangular play

Lead Summary
By
Jaqueline Johnson for the Star Herald

The Luverne Cardinals volleyball team improved its record to 5-0 with a pair of wins in its home triangular Thursday, Sept. 2.
The Cards put away Murray County Central 2-0 and West Lyon 2-1 in the best-of-three competition.
Luverne beat Redwood Valley 3-0 on Tuesday, Aug. 31, at home (see related story).
The Cards were scheduled to play Tuesday in Marshall for a Big South Conference matchup and they’ll travel to Westbrook Walnut Grove  on Thursday.
 
Luverne 2, Murray County Central 0
Reghan Bork set the pace for the Cardinals volleyball squad Thursday afternoon when she completed a setter dump en route to a 4-0 serving run.
This put Luverne in a commanding position in the opening set of a triangular, which included the Murray County Central Rebels and the West Lyon Wildcats. 
The Cards maintained a demanding lead in the first set, concluding with an 8-5 run marked by two consecutive Kamryn VanBatavia kills and ace serves by both Christina Wagner and Macy Stratton for a 25-15 finish.
In the best of three set matchup, Luverne fell behind early in Set 2, but quickly rallied with a 21-5 run, which included aces by Morgan Gonnerman and Christina Wagner and a tip kill by Madee Schmuck. 
Despite some errors late in the set, the Cards were able to secure a 2-0 victory with a kill by Grace Sandbulte to conclude the set at 25-19.
 
Carly Olson 6 digs
Trista Baustian 9 set assists;
Reghan Bork 10 set assists;
Christina Wagner 2 ace serves, 100% serve percentage, 4 solo blocks and 4 block assists;
Kamryn VanBatavia 6 kills, 4 block assists;
Elise Ferrell 6 kills
 
Luverne 2, West Lyon 1
In the triangular finale Luverne went up against fierce contenders at the net in the Wildcats. 
Sporting their new Cardinal red jerseys, Luverne got off to a strong start with two kills by senior outside hitter Elise Ferrell. 
Providing a set assist to Ferrell and marking a kill of her own, co-captain Trista Baustian put the Cards ahead 4-1 early in Set 1. 
After several dominating kills and a few hitting and passing errors from the home team, the visiting Wildcats took the lead with a 12-9 score. 
Following two set assists from Reghan Bork and kills by Trista Baustian and Ferrell, Luverne tied it up at 12 all. 
Senior Stratton racked up a string of serves, including an ace, to put Luverne in position at 22 all.  The teams traded points to a nail-biting finish, which ended with a receiving error from the home team for a 24-26 loss in Set 1.
Set 2 pushed the Luverne team to step up to the challenge, taking control early and never letting up. 
Anja Jarchow supplied two ace serves to put the home team up 4-1. After a resounding Morgan Ahrendt kill, Luverne’s lead continued at 11-8.  The Cardinals dominated with a 13-6 run off several of Baustian’s serves to complete the set with a Christina Wagner kill to make it 25-18.
In the third and deciding set, the teams traded points until Luverne got an opportunity to break away with a kill from VanBatavia and a service ace from Ferrell.  Baustian capped the short run to 15 with her final serve and a setter dump that the Wildcats were unable to return for a Cardinal 2-1 win.  
Coach Sarah DeBeer said she felt a noticeable momentum building through the matches and noted that she was pleased the team.
“The team took control today,” she said. “We needed that.” 
The Cardinals are now 5-0 on the season.
 
Stat highlights
Reghan Bork 7 digs, 14 set assists, 12/12 serving;
Trista Baustian 7 set assists;
Elise Ferrell 11/12 serving, 2 ace serves, 12 kills;
Christina Wagner 5 block assists, 2 solo blocks, 5 kills

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