Published: October 22, 2009 06:11 am      

Volleyball roundup: Prince of Peace advances

Irish

spikers advance

Herald Staff Report

CLINTON — Prince of Peace improved to 2-0 in the postseason with a 25-15, 22-25, 25-12, 25-14 victory against Morningstar Acad-emy in a Class 1A Region 7 second-round volleyball Wednesday at Central Catholic Auditorium.

The Irish (12-15) will face Springville in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. next Tuesday in Wheatland. Springville was a state semifinalist last year. The Orioles advanced with a sweep of Calamus-Wheatland on Wednesday.

“I know nothing about them, except that they lost quite a few seniors,” Prince of Peace coach Shanon Nelson said of Springville.

Nelson also wasn’t sure what to think about the Irish on Wednesday.

Morningstar plays a kind of ball we’re not used to, and it caught us off guard,” she said. “I thought Morningstar played tough defense so we had to work for our points.”

Prince of Peace excelled at the service line, recording 15 aces, including eight from Kirsten Heeren.

“Our serving was definitely key,” Nelson said.

After the teams split the opening two games, Prince of Peace picked things up and recorded double-digit wins in Games 3 and 4.

“Our defense got better,” Nelson said. “We’re doing a lot better at controlling our side. Once we’re getting a lead we’re keeping it and not getting down. It was just scrappy ball.”



PRINCE OF PEACE 25-22-25-25,

MORNINGSTAR ACADEMY 15-25-12-14

Prince of Peace statistical leaders

Kills — Erica Ugarph 11, Carie Kuehn 10, Megan Lehmkuhl 7, Brittany Horst 7, Kirsten Heeren 4. Assists — Ari Aquilani 16, Lehmkuhl 13, Julia Isenhour 4. Digs — Horst 23, Kuehn 19, Heeren 14, Lehmkuhl 14, Aquilani 12. Blocks — Kuehn 2, Lehmkuhl 1. Serving — Heeren 14-17, 8 aces; Kuehn 13-14, 3 aces; Horst 21-22, 2 aces; Aquilani 15-15, 2 aces.



Preston moves on

PRESTON — Preston advanced to the Class 1A Region 7 quarterfinals with a 26-24, 18-25, 25-18, 25-20 victory against Big East Conference foe Bellevue Marquette on Wednesday.

The Trojans (22-11) will face Andrew at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Wyoming Midland. It will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season — Preston has won all three.

In a matchup featuring two of the top setters from the Big East Conference — both first-team selections — Kelcie Bormann of Preston had the upper hand with 35 assists, while Audrey Sieverding had 24 to go with 29 digs for Marquette (12-17).



PRESTON 26-18-25-25,

BELLEVUE MARQUETTE 24-25-18-20

Individual statistical leaders

Kills — Marquette, Stephanie Kramer 14, Tamber Thoma 7, Amanda Mueller 6, Kelli Herrig 3; Preston, Janell Johnson 14, Brena Smithson 12, Brook Tebbe 10, Emily Henningsen 7. Blocks — Marquette, Kramer 4, Herrig 3; Preston, Smithson 2, Johnson 1. Assists — Marquette, Audrey Sieverding 24, Danielle Bender 2; Preston, Kelcie Bormann 35, Korissa Daniels 3. Serving — Marquette, Thoma 3, Sieverding 1, Mueller 1; Preston, Daniels 4, Haley Andresen 3, Kaylee Driscoll 3, Tebbe 2. Digs — Marquette, Sieverding 29, Thoma 23, Mueller 13, Herrig 13; Preston, Henningsen 18, Daniels 15, Tebbe 15, Bormann 8, Andresen 6, Driscoll 5, Smithson 4.