By John RittenhouseThe Luverne volleyball team posted back-to-back win matches played early this week.After a three-game match in Windom Thursday, the Cardinals beat Martin County West in a four-game test played in Trimont Monday before sweeping a three-game decision from Brandon Valley (S.D.) in Luverne Monday.Luverne, 9-10-1 overall, hosts Worthington tonight before playing in the Hull (Iowa) Western Christian Tournament Saturday and in Pipestone Tuesday.Luverne 3, BV 0The Cardinals took care of business while posting a three-game home win over the Lynx Tuesday.Luverne sported leads for most of the match while outscoring Brandon Valley 75-57.Stephanie Morgan helped the Cards open a 9-3 lead in Game 1 with a four-point service run.BV battled back to tie the game at 14, but the Cards countered with a 9-2 surge capped by a service point from Cassie Pap to take a 23-16 cushion before closing a 25-18 victory with a kill by Ashley Heitkamp.Luverne scored the first three points of Game 2 and increased the difference to eight points (13-5) before BV trimmed the difference to four points at 14-10.The Cards still led by four (17-13) before going on an 8-3 run to notch a 25-17 win.BV sported a pair of one-point advantages early in Game 3 to take a lead for the first time in the match.The Lynx led 12-9 before the Cards moved in front 15-12 with a six-point run capped by an ace serve from Heitkamp.BV battled back to trail by one (23-22) late in the game, but kills by Pap and Morgan closed the door on a 25-22 LHS victory.Morgan, who tied Tera Boomgaarden the team lead with three blocks, led the Cards with nine kills. Heitkamp and Pap added six and five kills respectively.Heitkamp served nine points and two aces, Pap eight points and four aces, and Brittney Williams six points and two aces. Williams also recorded 27 set assists.Luverne 3, MCW 1Luverne snapped a three-match losing skid when it topped the Mavericks in a four-game match played in Trimont Monday.The Cardinals had to play catch-up volleyball after losing a competitive first game, but LHS met the challenge by posting three straight wins behind consistent passing and good court coverage."Our passing was the strong point. Our movement on the floor was much better in this match, too," said LHS coach Lori Jacobs.The teams exchanged blows before MCW took the early advantage by posting a 25-23 win in Game 1.Luverne started to assert itself by notching 25-18 and 25-13 victories in Games 2 and 3.Game 4 was tightly contested, but a four-point service run by Boomgaarden and a three-point run by Williams helped the Cards pull out a 25-22 win.Williams, who led LHS with 34 set assists, was 17 of 18 serving with nine points. Boomgaarden was 13 of 14 serving with three aces and seven points. Heitkamp was 14 of 15 with one ace and eight points.Callen Bosshart led the Cards at the net with 12 kills. Pap and Boomgaarden added nine and seven kills to the cause. Morgan and Heitkamp chipped in eight and four blocks to the effort.Windom 3, Luverne 0The Cardinals slipped to 1-3 in Southwest Conference play after falling in Windom Thursday.Luverne put up a good fight against a third straight state-ranked opponent, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Cardinals from losing 25-20, 25-22 and 25-18 games."We played great," said Cardinal coach Jacobs. "I think this was one of our better matches that we have played even though we lost."Jacobs was especially proud of the way the Cardinals battled in Game 2. LHS fell behind 16-1 early before rallying to take a 22-21 lead. Windom, however, scored the next four points to take the game.Pap, who had one tip, led LHS with nine kills. Morgan added seven blocks and eight kills. Boomgaarden added three kills.Williams, who had 18 set assists in the match, was 12 of 13 serving with seven points and one ace. Heitkamp was 11 of 11 serving with seven points and one ace. Traci Evans was seven of eight with five points and one ace.
