by Kelsey Buchholz, Assistant Volleyball Coach
After finishing second to Parker in the Big East Conference and being delivered their first loss of the season, Garretson put themselves back in the win column last Tuesday, September 15.
The Blue Dragons traveled to conference foe Flandreau ready to get back in the swing of things, literally. Garretson made quick work of the Fliers, defeating them in three straight sets: 25-11, 25-21, 25-6.
Leading the way for Garretson was senior Kennedy Buckneberg who put down 13 kills on the night. Also supporting the offensive prowess were Lily Ranschau and Aliyah Leedy with 4 kills apiece, Logan Bly and Mattea Fiegen each chipped in 2 and Jaelyn Benson, Lauren Heesch, Anna Jones, and Madden Lardy all had 1. Benson was also responsible for 12 of the assists on the night and Peyton Hove had 9.
Defensively, Heesch picked up 12 digs on a slow offensive night for the fliers. Ranschau had 5, while Bonte and
Hove each had 4. Bly, Benson, Leedy and Buckneberg picked up 3 digs each and Jones and Lardy both knocked one up for their team.
Ranschau led the Blue Dragons in serving with 4 aces. Benson, Hove, and Leedy each had two and Bly had 1.
Garretson had almost a week off before making another road trip, this time to Vermillion. This is the first time the Blue Dragons have seen the Tanagers in the regular season in a non-tourney format.
The Blue Dragons came in hot with some strong swings right off the bat. That aggressive play led them to another three-set sweep. Garretson took down the Tanagers 25-8, 25-15, 25-19.
Buckneberg once again paced the Blue Dragons with 9 kills on the night. Also contributing to that stat column were Heesch (4), Bly (3), Jones (2), Fiegen (2), Ranschau (2), Maren Bonte (1), and Benson (1).
Benson led the team with 9 assists while Hove dished up 5 to her teammates.
Leedy paced the defense with 12 digs while Ranschau picked up 7. Buckneberg and Benson each had 5 of the night. Also picking up the defense were Bly (4), Heesch (3), Hove (2), Fiegen (1), Bonte (1), Grace Hove (1), and Lexi Gawarecki (1).
This puts Garretson's record at 9-1 to open the first ten games of the season.
Also seeing success this year are the Blue Dragon C and JV teams. They are entering play this week with unblemished records, sitting at 6-0 and 7-0, respectively.
The Blue Dragons hosted Dell Rapids in the Dragons' Lair on Tuesday night. Results and statistics were not available at press time.
