B-H NETTERS WIN CROSS-COUNTRY TUSSEL

    The Britton-Hecla volleyball team suffered its first losses of the season at the Clark-Willow Lake Tournament on Saturday but also added four wins in the past week to boost its season mark to 8-2, including a four-set victory over cross-county rival Langford Area on Monday.
    Coach Jenna Peters’ squad defeated the Lady Lions 25-18, 26-24, 20-25, 25-22 but needed a pair of comebacks to get the job done.  LA, now 2-8, led 18-11 in the second set and still led 24-23 before B-H scored the final three points.  Then, after winning set three, LA led 22-19 before the Lady Braves scored six straight points to end the match.
    “It was a good win,” said Peters.  “We definitely need to get focused again and work on some things with our defense.  Our girls love to play and want to win.  We just have to get through the mid-season grind and get to playing our best volleyball yet.”
    In the opening set B-H led just 11-9 before putting together a 10-3 run to take a 21-12 advantage.  LA did cut the margin to 22-18 but Sterling Brassfield pounded a kill and Karlie Zuehlke served the final two points for the opening win.
    LA reeled off eight straight points behind a pair of kills and a block from lone senior Eliana Darling to erase a 6-4 deficit and lead 12-6 in set two.  The hosts boosted that lead to 18-11 but back came the Lady Braves.  Jaelee Grupe started things with a kill and then served six straight points to knot the set at 18-all.  McKenna Heer had two kills and Grupe an ace to spark the run.  The Lady Lions bounced back to lead 23-21 and 24-23, but Brassfield had a kill and served the final two points for the B-H comeback win.
    Three LA runs in set three put the Lady Lions back in the hunt.  Darling and Lizzie Gustafson both had a pair of kills in a 7-0 run that put LA on top 9-5.  B-H came right back, again with Grupe at the service line, to score five straight and the Lady Braves led 10-9.  A kill and ace from Karlie Zuehlke and a Heer ace gave Britton-Hecla a 14-11 advantage but LA came right back with a 5-0 run.  The Lady Braves final lead was 18-17 before LA went on an 8-2 run, capped by a Gustafson ace, for the win.
    The final set was more of the same – a real cross-county battle.  The set was tied five times down the stretch.  LA threatened to even the match, leading 22-19, when Grupe had a kill and then dropped a ball over a defender to tie the match at 22-all.  Heer recorded a kill and Abby Lee hammered home the final kill as Maddi Micko served the final five points.
    The Lady Braves probably had their best team effort of the season with Karlie Zuehlke, McKenna Heer, and Jaelee Grupe each pounding nine kills and Abby Lee adding seven.  B-H also came up with 17 service aces led by Heather Storbakken’s five, and five other players had at least a pair of aces.  Daynkia Zuehlke also had a strong defensive game with 26 digs.
    LA was led by Eliana Darling with nine kills and three blocks.  Lizzie Gustafson added four kills and a pair of service aces.