Lady Bulldogs Collect Wins Over Hamlin, Deubrook

The Milbank Area Lady Bulldogs collected two more wins recently to improve their season record to 12-4. The locals downed Hamlin 3-0 before edging out Deubrook 3-1.

Win Over Hamlin
The Milbank Area Lady Bulldogs cruised to a quick 3-0 victory over the Hamlin Chargers Thursday, September 29, to improve to 11-4 on the season.

Milbank Area led early in the first set at 8-2 with two aces by Caryssa Mielitz. Late in the set the locals went on a four-point run with kills by Mielitz and Mikaela Hoeke to extend the lead to 21-9. M. Hoeke dropped in two consecutive aces to widen the margin to 24-10 before Mielitz helped seal the set at 25-13 with a kill.

The Lady Bulldogs started out hot in the second set. Madi Schulte found a hole for two consecutive aces while Mielitz and M. Hoeke belted out kills to take the 6-1 lead. Milbank Area pushed ahead with a 16-9 advantage and closed out the set at 25-16.
Milbank Area again got out early in the third set after Mielitz served three straight aces to go ahead 7-3. The Lady Bulldogs worked together point by point to increase its lead to 23-11 late in the set. The final two points took some time, but freshman Jaecy Engebretson sealed the deal at 25-16 with a kill.

Mielitz led the offense with 15 kills on 33-36 hitting, five aces on 16-16 serving and 16 digs. Molly Rick followed with eight kills on 13-16 hitting, one ace on 9-9 serving, two assists on 5-5 setting and 13 digs. M. Hoeke tallied four kills on 17-19 hitting, three aces on 8-9 serving, 17 assists on 56-56 setting and 12 digs.

Assisting with both sides of the ball were Mackayla Schuelke with nine assists on 25-25 setting, two aces on 8-9 serving and 14 digs; Schulte with three aces on 15-16 serving, 4-4 setting and eight digs, and Maty Lightfield with one ace on 7-7 serving and seven digs.

Also contributing for the Lady Bulldogs were Engebretson, one kill on 7-7 hitting, 4-4 serving and three digs; Gabbi Cummins, two kills on 7-10 hitting; LaChasity Finley, two kills on 9-911 hitting; Jaden Hoeke, one kill on 6-6 hitting and two assists on 8-8 setting; Mady Hilbrands, 2-2 hitting, and Katie VanderWal, one kill on 1-1 hitting.

Win Over Deubrook
The Lady Bulldogs captured a 3-1 victory over Deubrook in a road contest Tuesday, October 4.

The locals seemed off-key but stuck to Deubrook point-by-point throughout the first set. The score teetered back and forth and was tied 11 times all the way to 16-16. Milbank Area went on a short run with two kills by Mielitz and an error on the opponent to widen the gap to 23-19. The Dolphins committed two unforced errors to close out the set at 25-21 in Milbank Area’s favor.

The locals started out hot in the second set and soared ahead 7-1. The Lady Bulldogs pushed ahead and secured the second set at 25-14.
Milbank Area came out flat in the third set and fell behind early at 8-3. Numerous unforced errors found the Lady Bulldogs behind at 20-9 which they were unable to recover from and fell 25-13.

The teams started out even in the fourth set before Milbank Area again fell behind at 9-5. The Lady Bulldogs pulled themselves together and found holes to knot the score up at 11-11. With kills by M. Hoeke and Mielitz, the locals quickly overtook the lead at 16-12. Deubrook then used errors by the Lady Bulldogs to even the score up at 21-21. Mielitz came up with a huge block, and the Dolphins committed three consecutive errors which gave Milbank Area the 25-21 victory.

Mielitz led the Lady Bulldogs with 19 kills on 56-62 hitting, 8-8 serving, 5-5 setting, 12 digs and one block. Rick chipped in with 12 kills on 33-43 hitting, 12-14 serving, 5-5 setting and 24 digs while M. Hoeke added seven kills on 20-23 hitting, 12-13 serving, 27 assists on 78-78 setting and 19 digs.
Schulte dropped in two aces on 17-17 serving, one assist on 6-6 setting and had 12 digs. Schuelke went 49-50 setting with 11 assists, 13-15 serving with one ace and 24 digs. Engebretson tallied five kills on 13-13 hitting, one ace on 6-6 serving and two digs while J. Hoeke had one kill on 3-7 hitting, one assist on 7-7 setting and two digs. Also contributing for the Lady Bulldogs were Lightfield, 11-11 serving, 3-3 setting with one assists and eight digs, and Hilbrands, 2-2 setting, 1-4 hitting and one dig.

Pictured is Jaden Hoeke.