By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
It was a good night for varsity volleyball as the Bluejays defeated Wausau West Thursday. Merrill defeated West with the same score of 25-17 each time for a final match score of 3-0.
While initially West would get the upper hand at the beginning of the sets, Merrill consistently recovered using solid defense, shutting down many attempted attacks and allowing their own scoring drives. Morgan Wardall was the the lead scorer with 10 kills out of 21 attacks and only two errors for a hit % of 0.381. She also had two blocks and three block assists.
Katie Zelinski was also on fire with seven kills out of 27 attacks and just two errors for a hit % of 0.185. Katie, with one block and five block assists, contributed to the improved defense of the team.
Kelsie Belfiori dominated serving, especially during set two when she had a magnificent nine-point streak. She had a total of 19 attacks and three aces, error-free and 100% in. Lindsey Casper also had a good day serving, getting two aces out of 22 attacks and one errors for an in % of 96.5. Lindsey also lead in the set assists category with 16 total.
“It was a great start to our conference season beating West in three games,” comments head coach Kristie Krug. “They really impressed me with how scrappy they were and how well they moved on defense. This was a good night for our blockers. We were finally closing blocks and staying out of the net! Kelsie Belfiori shined tonight in serving with nine straight points for us in the second set and ending up 100% serving for the match utilizing wicked jump serves.
“We played well as a team tonight and can hopefully carry that into this weekend’s tournament at DC Everest.”
The tournament at DC Everest will start on Saturday at 9 a.m. They will face off against Everest, Catholic Central, Eau Claire Memorial, Kaukauna, Menomonie, Newman Catholic, Tomahawk, Wausau East and Stevens Point.
For the full list of results, click here.
