Patriots Cage the Jaguars in Season Opener
By: Morgan Bunner, a freshman at Leigh High School
Add one tally to the Patriot volleyball team’s win column as they beat the Howells Dodge Jaguars in 4 sets in the season opener on September 1, 2020. Even though the Jaguars had four games before this match-up to prepare, the Patriots pulled through and were able to beat them.
The first three sets were tight, back-and-forth matches with the Patriots and Jaguars flopping scores 25-22, 22-25, and then 25-22.
It wasn’t until the fourth, final set, when the Patriots saw the Jaguars break down. The Patriots capitalized on this and pulled away, capturing the final set 25-13.
In the first game of her high school career, freshman middle blocker Chloe Hanel hammered home 16 kills. Junior Makenna Held paced the team with 42 set assists, while junior Kennedy Settje was all over the defense with 14 digs.
“The win against Howells-Dodge was an awesome way to start off our season,” Patriot head coach Becky Schneider said. “We knew coming into that match that it would be challenging especially given that they had four games under their belt and this would be our first match. We were also aware of the Baumert sisters that had transferred in, however, we didn't let that get to us! We had a game plan and we stuck to it! We were able to stay aggressive, stop them on the attack, and make them make mistakes! Overall, it was an outstanding team! We had a lot of players step it up in a lot of different areas which is what it takes to be successful! We just have to keep building and taking strides forward!”
Game Stats:
Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4
Howells-Dodge - 22 25 22 13
Clarkson-Leigh - 25 22 25 25
Individual Stats:
(kills-hit attempts, set assists, total blocks, ace serves, digs)
Makenna Held—2-5, 42, 0, 1, 8; Chloe Hanel—16-28, 0, 3, 1, 3; Kayden Schumacher—9-26, 1, 1, 2, 15; Bailey Lemburg—0-0, 0, 0, 3, 4; Alissa Kasik—1-1, 0, 0, 3, 6; Cassidy Hoffman—8-25, 0, 4, 0, 2; Kennedy Settje—9-25, 1, 1, 3, 14; Korbee Wendt—5-8, 1, 4, 0, 1