Adrian junior Kylie Heronimus digs up a spike in front of teammate Kristi Lonneman during TuesdayÕs home volleyball match against Southwest Star Concept. The Dragons lost a five-game match to the Quasars to wrap up a 3-20-1 regular season.
By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian volleyball team posted a pair of wins while dropping four matches during the final week of the regular season.
AHS went 2-2 and placed second in its division during the Southwest State University Subway tournament in Marshall Friday and Saturday.
The Dragons lost a three-game match to Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin in Mountain Lake Thursday before dropping a five-game home tilt to Southwest Star Concept Tuesday.
Adrian, 3-20-1 overall, opens the South Section 3A Tournament by playing Fulda in the Luverne Elementary School Oct. 25.
SSC 3, Adrian 2
The Dragons lost an opportunity to bring some momentum into the postseason when they lost their home finale to the Quasars Tuesday.
A nice rally in the fourth game allowed the Dragons to tie the match at two, but SSC won the war by claiming the fifth game.
After falling behind early in Game 1, Adrian rallied to take a 5-4 lead before going on an 8-3 run to take a 14-7 lead. That run featured three ace serves by Andrea Lonneman, two service points and an ace serve by Jenna Honermann, one ace serve by Carmen Erlandson and an ace block by Kylie Heronimus.
SSC closed the gap to 14-9 before a tip by Heronimus gave Adrian a 15-9 win.
The Dragons led 4-2 in Game 2 when the Quasars went on a 9-1 run to take an 11-5 advantage. Two service points from Kristi Lonneman and a kill by Andrea Lonneman trimmed SSC's lead to three points (11-8), but SSC scored the next four points to prevail 15-8.
SCC scored the first three points of Game 3 only to have AHS receive kills by Erlandson and Andrea Lonneman to make it a 3-2 difference. The Quasars dominated play the rest of the match with a 12-1 run that ended in a 15-3 win.
It looked like SSC might end the match when it sported a 12-8 lead late in Game 4. Adrian, however, bounced back to score the next seven points (two ace serves and a point from Sarah Henning, two kills by Erlandson and two kills by Andrea Lonneman) to steak a 15-12 win and force a fifth game.
SSC led 10-3 in the finale before Adrian put together a 5-0 run consisting of two points and an ace serve by Erlandson, a block by Heronimus and a point from Andrea Lonneman to trail 10-8. The Quasars answered the challenge by ending the match with a 5-1 surge to record a 15-9 win.
Andrea Lonneman and Erlandson led AHS with 13 and 11 kills, while Heronimus chipped in nine kills and four blocks.
Honermann, who had three blocks, registered 42 set assists. Henning was nine of nine serving with seven points and two aces. Kristi Lonnerman charted 10 digs.
SSU tourney
The Dragons posted a pair of wins and placed second in their division during the Subway Tournament in Marshall Friday and Saturday.
Competing in the Brown Division, AHS went 2-2 overall and finished second in the Silver Bracket in its division.
Adrian opened the event Friday by losing a 2-0 decision to Yellow Medicine East. The Sting toppled the Dragons by 15-3 and 15-12 tallies.
Honermann had eight set assists, three ace tips and completed 10 of 10 serves with one ace and five points during the match. Heronimus added three kills and two blocks.
The Dragons met Lincoln HI in FridayÕs second round, posting 15-10 and 15-5 wins over the Rebels.
Honermann recorded nine set assists, nine service points and two blocks during the win. Heronimus had four blocks, four ace tips and three kills. Erlandson served nine points and five aces.
Adrian won back-to-back matches for the first time this season when it racked up 15-9 and 15-12 wins over Cedar Mountain during Saturday's first round.
Andrea Lonneman served nine points and three aces during the win. Heronimus and Brittany Bullerman chipped in four and three kills respectively.
Adrian ended the event by losing a 2-1 match to Edgerton. The Dragons prevailed 15-2 in Game 2, but the Flying Dutchmen notched 15-12 and 15-9 victories in Games 1 and 3.
Kristi Lonneman completed all 18 of her serves with 11 points and one ace in the finale. Honermann registered 14 set assists, four ace tips and four ace serves. Heronimus tallied 10 kills, five service points, four blocks and three ace tips. Andrea Lonneman added five kills.
ML-B-O 3, Adrian 0
The Dragons played well against one of the Red Rock ConferenceÕs best teams before falling by three games in Mountain Lake Thursday.
ML-B-O, a team that currently occupies second place in the league, found itself in a battle against the Dragons. Adrian didnÕt win a game in the match, but the Dragons were in position to prevail in the first and third tilts before coming up short.
"ML-B-O is a pretty good team, and the girls played very well against them," said Dragon coach Solomon.
The teams traded points throughout the first game before ML-B-O erased a 13-12 deficit with a three-point run that clinched a 15-13 win.
The Wolverines took the second game 15-7, but found themselves in a deadlock at 12 in Game 3 before using another three-point run to win 15-12.
Heronimus had six kills, five blocks and two ace serves for the Dragons. Andrea Lonneman was 12 of 12 serving with two aces. Honermann charted 16 set assists.