Volleyball: Cannon Falls fends off Lake City

CANNON FALLS - Lake City has had trouble sustaining positive runs during sets all season. Cannon Falls continues to finish.

During Thursday’s match, the Tigers clawed their way back into multiple sets, but the Bombers always had an answer in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 victory.

“My team doesn’t get rattled,” Cannon Falls head coach Melissa Huseth said. “They know they can come back. They’re very confident.”

The Bombers (9-2, 4-1 HVL) have reason to trust their abilities lately after winning the silver division at the Jackson Country Central Invite last weekend that involved multiple ranked teams. Against Lake City, Cannon Falls had trouble defending at times but overall kept composed under pressure.

“Our digging can improve a little bit,” Huseth said. “We practiced (defending) cut shots but we still didn’t pick them up.”

The Tigers (2-10, 0-6 HVL) did a decent job of slowing down Bombers’ senior MaKenzie Franklin, who had five kills and six blocks. But ninth-grader Hailey Huseth stepped up to deliver 10 kills, and junior Madasyn Hofstedt had eight kills and three blocks while playing out of position at middle hitter. Huseth and junior Lydia Franken seemed to always set the ball in the right place, and Franken finished with 14 set assists to go along with four kills.

“I think I have some of the best setters in the conference,” Melissa Huseth said. “Our setters have great vision of the court.”

Junior Becca Vandenheuvel was constantly moving in the back row, leading Cannon Falls with 13 digs and constantly shouting direction.

“Becca and (senior) Mikayla Quinn work very well together,” Melissa Huseth said. “If it’s in Becca’s zone, it’ll get picked up.”

While the Bombers’ back line was sturdy, Lake City was up-and-down both serving and receiving.

Lake City led 12-11 early in the first set but serving was its downfall in set No. 1. The Tigers committed a service error on three consecutive serves in the middle of the set to fall behind 22-16 and never mounted another serious comeback.

“When we’re playing a good team, we can’t afford the mental errors,” Lake City head coach Kim Bobb said.

At the beginning of the second set it was the receiving that failed. Cannon Falls grabbed a 7-1 lead right away before a timeout by Bobb helped Lake City pull back within 7-6 on five straight service points by senior Sara Schmidt.

“We go on these runs where we don’t pass well,” Bobb said.

But again the Bombers were too much. In the final set, the teams traded leads until the Tigers committed another service error at 19-19 that helped Cannon Falls go on a 5-1 run to end the match.

“Our girls, they’re just intense,” Melissa Huseth said. “They’re dedicated. They know what it takes to be successful.”

Lake City was led by a trio of seniors. Tiffanie Hoops tallied nine kills, Ashley Gates finished with two kills and five blocks and Taylor Koller had five kills and six blocks.

Lake City plays again Tuesday at home against Goodhue, and the Bombers will host La Crescent.

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