Archive: Sports

A scrappy and persistent Groton team faced sluggish Bobcats on their home court on Friday 9/18.   After Lansing won a lackluster first set 25-17, service dominated the night, with both teams weak on defense.  In the second set, Lansing’s 12 aces accelerated its 25-5 win.  However, Groton rallied in the third set, with five aces and a lead through the halfway point.

Several Groton errors helped Lansing regain the lead and scrape through to a 25-22 win.  Taylor Bandler had 26 assists, three digs, and an ace, Breanna Brann 10 assists and four aces, Kari Fenner eight assists and three kills, and Sunah Bong four aces.  At the net, Tara Miller led with 11 kills, also contributing two digs and an ace.  Amber Howser added three kills, three digs, two assists, and two blocks.

Union Springs proved a challenging opponent on 9/21.  Lansing opened the night with a slight lead in the first set.  Two blocks by Kristen Beyea and four points by Miller then stretched the lead.  Union Springs had no chance of recovery when Tory Cutting added two kills and an ace. 

Solid teamwork on both sides led to long rallies in the second and third sets.  Lansing drummed a relentless rhythm of bump-set-spike with various player ensembles, repeatedly hanging tough to win the point.  Smart placement distinguished Lansing’s kills in the second set, and points from the back row spiced up the third set.  Lansing finished the match 25-14, 26-16, 25-14.  

Team statistics show across-the-board contributions.  Cutting led with 10 kills, followed by Beyea and Miller with six, and Brann, Fenner, and Blair Wigsten with two each.  Beyea had four blocks and Wigsten one; Bong had six digs and Nicole Washburn two; and Washburn added two assists to Bandler’s 16.  Cutting and Miller each drilled in three aces, Bandler two, and Bong one.

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