Lady Bulldogs Volleyball Team Stops Sisseton

The MHS varsity volleyball team secured a solid first win in their season opener on the road against Sisseton on Thursday, August 24. Set scores were 25-14, 25-21, and 25-18

The Lady Bulldogs started out on the right foot, with 14 kills in set one. Nancy Hoeke, head coach for Milbank, said, “That’s a pretty good number of earned points in a set — especially the first set of the season. I thought we started out ready to play and worked through the nerves quickly.”

The night was packed with positives. As a team, Milbank amassed a serving average of 93 percent. “That’s right where I like to be,” Hoeke said. ‘We also made nine aces to go with that. We had some nice leads that Sisseton closed the gap on, but we were able to respond and grow the lead each time.” 

Skyler Skoog and Shaylee Schuchard led the Lady Bulldogs’ attack. “Skyler and Shaylee didn’t have any hitting errors,” Hoeke commented. “It doesn’t happen very often that a few don’t get away from hitters. Shaylee was 11 of 11 with four kills, and Skyler was 18 of 18 with 10 kills.”

“It takes a few matches to get into the flow of the game and get comfortable playing with the girls next to you. We have new players on the court who are excited to see what they can do,” she added. “It’s fun to be off and running with our season.”

Individual Stats for Milbank vs. Sisseton:

What’s next for volleyball? Milbank travels to Clear Lake on Tuesday, August 29, to take on the Deuel Lady Cardinals.

Photos: Top- Sierra Wenzel goes for a kill. Ella Sandvig lunges for the ball. Isabella Anderson goes for a kill. Coach Nancy Hoeke is happy with her team’s effort. Rachel Schulte is ready for a dig.