10 Best: State Tournament Service Masters
The first day of the state tournament brought about exciting match-ups, big hitters, top-notch setting and some of the top servers. The service line has become the quickest place to get a point and take control of the game. However,…
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Continue ReadingThe first day of the state tournament brought about exciting match-ups, big hitters, top-notch setting and some of the top servers. The service line has become the quickest place to get a point and take control of the game. However, it is also one of the hardest skills to master. These 10+ athletes started their weekend with a handful of service aces.
Concordia Academy’s Sydney Pelzer led the pack with impressive 6 ace serves. This was the edge they needed to defeat Watertown-Mayer in three sets. The 5’9” junior is a well balanced player and added 11 digs to the first match. Typically Kira Fallert leads the team in serving but Syndey stepped up to the challenge and was feeling the energy that playing at the Excel Center brings. They will need both servers to be very aggressive from the line today when they play Stewartville.
Kennedy Orr, the 6′ junior for Eagan ‘ last=”]’ last=”], had another spectacular game that included wiping away St. Louis Park’s confidence from the end line. She ended the night with 5 service aces and only 1 error. This was in addition to her 23 set assists and 15 kills. Again, proving why she, and her team, are the number one seed in 3A.
There were a couple athletes with four aces including Jordyn Hilgemann from Marshall and Ellie Ready of WEM. Kylie Kline from North Branch added four too. North Branch had the most aces as a team yesterday with 12 in their win over Pequot Lakes. Page Sheehan, Cianna Selbitschka and Macy Brodin all added two; Maddie Helin had one.
Karissa Jones (Belgrade Brooten Elrosa) and Olivia Johnson (Wayzata) both added three. A handful more had two:
Katy Riviere Wayzata: 2 aces – 0 errors
Abby Schell North St. Paul: 2 aces and a few long runs in win over Lakeville North
Halle Wolf Lakeville North: 2 aces
Abby Moe Eagan ‘ last=”]’ last=”]: 2 aces – 1 error
Brooke Weichbrodt Concordia Academy: 2 aces
Morgan Kruger & Sydney Meyer Belle Plaine: 2 each
Rachel Schwarz Marshall: 2 aces
As the tournament goes on, each serve will become more important. Likewise, it will get harder for teams to tally aces. Whether it is with a short serve, jump serve, float, deep, or top spin serve, aces and long service runs will be essential. We anticipate smart, aggressive serving on day two and three.