Cardinal volleyball team opens season with two wins

Luverne volleyball players opened their season with two road wins last week in Edgerton and Marshall.
The Cardinals beat the Dutchmen in four sets Aug. 25, and it took them five sets to take down the Waseca Blue Jays Aug. 27 in the Big South Showcase.
Luverne will host a triangular on Thursday, Sept. 1, against West Lyon at 3:30 p.m. and Murray County Central at 4:30. The next two contests are also at home, against Marshall Sept. 6 and Westbrook Walnut Grove Sept. 8. 
 
LHS 3, Edgerton 1
Luverne took an early lead in Game 1 over the Dutchmen in Edgerton Thursday and came away with a 25-10 victory.
Game 2 was closer, but the Cardinals came out ahead, winning 25-21.
In Game 3 Edgerton took a commanding lead and won 25-12, but Luverne fought back and took Game 4 with a score of 25-16. 
“For our first game out, we dug the ball and blocked the ball pretty well,” said head coach Sarah DeBeer.
Several missed serves gave Edgerton too many free points, but she said the team never gave up and worked hard every set.
“It was a good first win to build on for the rest of our 2022 season,” DeBeer said. 
Serving leaders included Carly Olson, senior libero, completing 18 of 18 serves with two aces and Emma Beyer, senior setter, completing 15 of 16 serves. 
Anja Jarchow, senior hitter, led the Cardinals with nine kills, followed by junior Tori Serie and senior Kamryn Van Batavia, who recorded eight kills each.
Beyer finished the night with 23 set assists, and senior setter Averill Sehr had 10 set assists.
Olson recorded 23 digs against the Dutchmen, and Van Batavia contributed 19 digs.
Senior Christina Wagner led the team in blocks with two solo blocks and three assists, with senior hitter Elizabeth Wagner and Serie adding two assists each. 
 
LHS 3 Waseca 2
Luverne traveled to Marshall on Saturday to face Waseca in the Big South Showcase where it took the Cardinals five close games to secure the win. 
Game 1 scoring was back and forth, and the Cardinals kept it close but lost 24-26. Game 2 was also close, but this time, the Cardinals came out on top 25-22. Game 3 went to Waseca 20-25, but the Cardinals came out ready to fight in Game 4, winning 25-23. In Game 5 the Cardinals remained strong and held the lead the entire game, winning 15-12. 
Sehr led in set assists with 14, and Beyer contributed 10 to assist the Cardinals to victory.
Olson completed 21 of 23 serves with three aces, Beyer completed 16 of 16 serves, and Sehr completed 13 of 13 serves and recorded three aces.
Jarchow led the Cardinals with nine kills, Van Batavia had eight and Serie charted six during the match.
Christina Wagner led the Cardinals at the net with one solo block and three assists. Serie and Elizabeth Wagner recorded four and three assists respectively. Olson led in passing with 25 digs and Van Batavia recorded 22 digs for the Cardinals. 
“Overall, we had fewer missed serves,” said DeBeer. “We made good mid-game adjustments that helped us improve.”
She remarked that Waseca was a good team but Luverne’s blocking and hitting is what secured the match. “I was very proud of our team’s fight to win the match,” she said.