Cardinal volleyball playing well in losses
The Staples-Motley volleyball team lost three straight games but are showing a competitive spirit in facing some of the good teams in the area.
The Cardinals lost on Sept. 27 to Menahga 19-25, 19-25, 15-25, on Sept. 29 to Park Rapids 15-25, 13-25, 15-25, and on Oct. 3 to New York Mills 19-25, 13-25, 17-25.
Coach Gretchen Bestland said the last couple of weeks have been challenging with the majority of our schedule against teams ranked high in the state, a number of the games on the road and an injury taking out one of the regular players.
“The team has persevered and held their own to make the games competitive,” said Bestland. “They are working well together and it has been fun to observe their growth over the season.”
A good example was the first set against New York Mills, who came in with a 12-3 record. The Cardinals didn’t back down and tied the score at 10-10 on Taylor Heldman’s third kill of the game. Camryn Banaka tied the game again at 12 with an ace serve. Other players also stepped up to keep the score tight, Mackenzie Zetah scored two kills and Mardi Opheim had one. The team scored on one long rally that included t dig by Ashley Vasquez, another dig by Chelsea Nanik and finally a kill by Vasquez.
But the NYM attack proved too powerful and the Cardinals fell in the last part of the set.
Team results
vs. Menahga:
Mardi Opheim - 3 Digs, 1 Assist, 3 Kills; Mackenzie Zetah - 1 Ace Serve, 4 Digs, 1 Assist, 2 Kills, 2 Blocks; Ashley Vasquez - 1 Dig, 1 Assist, 2 Kills; Camryn Banaka - 5 Digs, 6 Assists; Chelsea Nanik - 16 Digs, 2 Assists, 1 Kill; Paige Kittleson - 2 Digs, 2 Kills; Taylor Heldman - 2 Digs, 2 Kills; Alex Davis - 1 Ace Serve, 1 Assist; Jenna Trantina - 2 Digs
vs. Park Rapids
Opheim - 3 Digs, 1 Assist, 2 Kills; Zetah - 2 Ace Serves, 3 Digs, 2 Kills; Vasquez - 6 Digs, 4 Kills; Banaka - 1 Dig, 6 Assists; Nanik - 14 Digs, 1 Assist; Heldman - 2 Digs, 1 Kill; Davis - 1 Ace Serve, 7 Digs, 2 Assists, 1 Kill; Trantina - 1 Dig
vs. New York Mills
Opheim - 10 Digs, 4 Assists, 2 Kills; Zetah - 3 Digs, 6 Kills, 1 Block; Vasquez - 5 Digs, 1 Assist, 3 Kills; Banaka - 1 Ace Serve, 7 Digs, 12 Assists; Nanik - 16 Digs; Heldman - 1 Ace Serve, 6 Digs, 6 Kills; Davis - 1 Ace Serve, 7 Digs; Trantina - 4 Digs; Kiera Dumpprope - 1 Dig, 1 Kill