Junior Megan Gustafson lands a hit on Saturday during the tournament the Langford Area Lady Lions attended in Estelline. The girls would ultimately take fifth at the tournament after beating Wilmot and Waverly-South Shore.
Langford Area volleyball starters were introduced prior to their season-opener last week Tuesday. From left to right are Avery West, Bryanna Peterson, Eliana Darling, Cali Vander Vorst, Megan Gustafson, Montana Marlow, and Tawnee Nelson. (Jenn Gustafson Photo)
Lady Lions Volleyball Off To Strong Start On Season
LA 25-25-25 W-SS 21-17-22
The Lady Lions opened its season on a good foot with a sweep over Waverly-South Shore last week Tuesday.
“It was so nice for the JV and varsity to both get wins for the opener,” said LA coach Susan Larson. “JV is young this year. We have some good leadership in three sophomores for the JV, but one, Cassidy Nelson, is out on concussion protocol. The eighth and ninth graders really stepped up and played hard for the win.
“The varsity girls are pretty new to the varsity court as well, but have played together for a while. I only have two girls back with substantial varsity time from the previous year, Megan Gustafson and Avery West. Megan is playing a new position and we’re running a whole new offense. I hope we can serve a little better or a little more consistently. We need to work on our attack game and coverage. It was good to have a game, to see what we need to work on. I’m proud of both teams.”
SERVING: WSS, 50-60, 6 aces; LA, 66-75, 7 aces (Eliana Darling 16-17, 2 aces; Avery West 13-14, 1 ace; Montana Marlow 12-12, 1 ace; Megan Gustafson 9-12, 1 ace; Tawnee Nelson 8-10, 2 aces; Cali Vander Vost 8-18)
HITTING: WSS, 36-48, 14 kills; LA, 56-75, 28 kills (Gustafson 18-23, 7 kills; Darling 11-13, 7 kills; Bryanna Peterson 10-14, 6 kills; Marlow 7-13, 4 kills)
SETTING: WSS, 36-37, 13 assists; LA, 69-70, 24 assists (Marlow 25-25, 10 assists; Nelson 43-44, 14 assists)
BLOCKS: LA, 3 (Gustafson 1, Vander Vorst 1, Nelson 1)
DIGS: LA, 65 (Darling 19, West 17, Vander Vorst 9)
JV MATCH: Langford Area 2-1
Lions Take Fifth In Tourney
The Lady Lions hit the road on Saturday for a tournament in Estelline. The Langford Area girls took victories in two out of the three matches. After a tough opening loss to St. Mary, the team rallied with wins over Wilmot and Waverly-South Shore. The Lions ultimately came in fifth in the tournament.
“I was proud of the girls,” said LA coach Susan Larson. “After losing a tough match to a good team, they fought back to win the next two matches.” “We got down in a few sets and didn’t fall apart,” Larson added. “They kept their heads in the game and fought back to win. I saw the girls adapt and make changes during the set and improve in many areas! It was a good day to be a Lion!”
LA 13-15 St Mary 25-25
SERVING: LA, 26-29, 2 aces. (Avery West 6-6, 2 aces; Cali Vander Vost 7-8)
HITTING: LA, 35-39, 4 kills (Gustafson 10-11, 2 kills; Bryanna Peterson 9-9, 2 kills)
SETTING: LA, 56-56, 4 assists (Marlow 16-16, 1 assist; Nelson 20-20, 3 assists)
BLOCKS: LA, 4 (Gustafson 1, Marlow 1, Darling 2)
DIGS: LA, 30 (West 7, Gustafson 8)
LA 25-25 Wilmot 14-21
SERVING: LA, 48-51, 11 aces. (Nelson 14-15, 5 aces; Darling 12-12, 4 aces)
HITTING: LA, 56-57, 16 kills (Gustafson 19-20, 7 kills; Peterson 12-16, 3 kills)
SETTING: LA, 51-63, 14 assists (Marlow 23-23, 6 assists; Nelson 25-26, 10 assists)
BLOCKS: LA, 1 (Peterson 1)
DIGS: LA, 51 (West 12, Gustafson 13)
LA 25-25 Waverly-SS 22-23
SERVING: LA, 48-50, 9 aces. (West 7-9, 1 ace; Darling 15-16, 3 aces)
HITTING: LA, 129-142, 13 kills (Gustafson 12-18, 3 kills; Peterson 13-15, 5 kills)
SETTING: LA, 69-69, 13 assists (Marlow 27-27, 4 assists; Nelson 34-34, 4 assists)
BLOCKS: LA, 2 (Peterson 1, Marlow 1)
DIGS: LA, 51 (West 15, Darling 13)