Bulldog volleyball surpasses 2024 win total
Maddie Keehner sets a ball in MFL MarMac’s win over Central in a Sept. 16 conference quad. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
Blair Winter attempts a block in MFL MarMac’s win over West Central on Sept. 16. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
Kensey Ball sends the ball across the net in the Bulldogs’ 2-0 victory over West Central. She had one kill in the game. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
The MFL MarMac volleyball team picked up two Upper Iowa Conference victories last week, sweeping both Central and West Central in a UIC quadrangular in Elkader on Sept. 16.
Avenging a loss at a tournament early in the season, the Bulldogs defeated Central 25-20 and 25-21 to open the night. MFL MarMac was efficient at the net, racking up seven more kills than the Warriors on nearly the same number of attempts. Lily Johnson led the Bulldogs with five kills and Maddie Keehner followed with four, while Hadyn Meyer and Blair Winter each collected three. Addison Corlett dished out 16 assists.
MFL MarMac continued to up its blocking game in this match, with four total. Keehner had two of them and Corlett and Winter each had one. Lauryn Johnson and Corlett anchored the back row defense with a respective 13 and 11 digs. Lily Johnson nabbed six.
From the service line, the team was a combined 85.7 percent, led by 8/9 performances from Keehner, Corlett and Lauryn Johnson. Macy McGeough hit six of seven serves, including a pair of aces.
The Bulldogs continued to roll in the second match, whizzing past West Central 25-10 and 25-16.
Serve efficiency improved to 93.8 percent, as MFL MarMac tallied 13 aces. Five came from Lily Johnson, who was 8/9 overall. Corlett nailed all 10 of her attempts, including two aces, then Lauryn Johnson was 7/8, also with a pair of aces.
Lily Johnson continued to lead the Bulldogs’ offensive attack, smashing five kills. Devon Meyer recorded four and Keehner three. Corlett’s 12 assists were a team high.
Defensively, Corlett topped the dig column with eight, and Lauryn Johnson followed with seven and Devon Meyer six. Lily Johnson scooped five digs and had MFL MarMac’s lone block.
The win over West Central was the Bulldogs’ eighth of the season, exceeding their win total from all of 2024.
They grew that number to 10 on Sept. 20, winning two of four games in a tournament at Waukon.
The team opened with a 2-0 win over Riceville by scores of 21-14 and 21-13, buoyed by a 95 percent serving percentage. Lily Johnson hit all 14 attempts and four of eight team aces.
Keehner and Devon Meyer led the effort at the net, with four kills apiece, and Corlett picked up 13 assists. She also had the second most digs, at five, trailing only Lauryn Johnson’s seven.
In game two, the Bulldogs edged Postville 21-19 in both sets. Corlett racked up a whopping 19 assists in the victory, and Winter smashed a team leading six kills. Lily Johnson was the digs leader, at seven.
MFL MarMac hit a collective 92.7 percent at the service line, including an 11/11 match for McGeough. She had two aces and teammate Lauryn Johnson earned four.
Lanesboro snapped the Bulldogs’ momentum in game three, edging them 16-14 in the final set to win 2-1. The offense ran through Corlett with 21 assists, while Lily Johnson recorded eight kills and snagged eight digs on the defensive side. Keehner and Devon Meyer each contributed a block.
Corlett had a stellar serving game, landing all 14 of her attempts, with one ace. The team served 86.5 percent overall.
The tournament concluded in 2-0 loss to host Waukon, who won the match by scores of 21-14 and 21-16. MFL MarMac netted just five kills, led by two from Kensey Ball. Corlett picked up four assists. Lauryn Johnson bolstered the back row with seven digs and Corlett had the lone block.
At 8/8, McGeough was one of several servers who didn’t miss an attempt.
MFL MarMac continued Upper Iowa Conference play on Sept. 23, at North Fayette Valley. This weekend, the team will compete in a tournament at Decorah.
