Thursday, March 28th, 2024 Church Directory
Kyanna Marx had a great defensive effort against Delano (Patriot photo by Mark Kolbinger).

Bulldog Volleyball goes 1-1 to end season

The Becker Bulldog volleyball team saw its season come to a close last Friday, as the MSHSL suspended the fall sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The team was able to squeeze in a pair of games before the deadline to end play, defeating the Delano Tigers in a Thursday night matchup before falling to the Hutchinson Tigers on Friday night.  In all, it added up to a crazy final ending to the season as the Bulldogs faced a flurry of activity.

“We ended the season strong, but tired,” said Coach Greg Lynch, who helped the team navigate a crazy schedule after his team had to take a COVID-related pause.   

“After quarantine, we had six matches and two practices.” 

In the win over Delano, Becker put forth a complete team performance to win 25-23, 15-25, 25-17 and 25-17.

Kady Lindbom was dominant at the net, picking up 24 of the team’s 48 kills.  It was an incredible team effort, as nine different Bulldogs picked up kills during the match, including Evelyn Kreft, Jenna Olson, Cami Ramola, Alexa Williams, Ellie Wenner, Emilie Baumgartner, Ashlynne Kuklok, and Mckayla Ewing.

Wenner added 36 set assists, while Kyanna Marx had five.

In the serving department, Becker aced nine serves, while the Tigers had five.  Lindbom again led the Bulldogs in this area, picking three aces.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were sharp as they picked up 51 digs, including 26 by Marx and nine by Wenner.  As she has done for much of the season, Kreft showed her prowess at the net and picked up three of the team’s six blocks.

In last Friday’s loss to Hutchinson, the lack of rest and practice time caught up with the Bulldogs as they fell 3-1.  Becker came out sharp and won the first set 25-18, but then fell in the next three 25-16, 25-21 and 25-20.

The hitting statistics were similar to the night before as Lindbom led the team with 20 kills and eight teammates pitched in the other 25 for a team total of 45.  Wenner again had a good night setting up her teammates to pick up 33 assists.

Baumgartner led the team with 28 digs, while Wenner and Lindbom added nine apiece.

In reflecting on the season, Lynch expressed pride at how his players showed resiliency and were able to support one another as a team.

“It was a marathon,” said Lynch, referring to the delayed, but busy schedule.  “We ended with a winning season at 7-5.”