Serve-receive, aces help Eleva-Strum spikers down Thunder

There's nothing like a good service run in volleyball to get a big lead for your team during a match.

Kaya Franson can attest to it.

The Eleva-Strum senior scored 13 straight service points in Game 1 against Osseo-Fairchild at home during the Cardinal's "Dig Pink" volleyball match fundraiser for childhood and breast cancer research last week Thursday, Oct. 3 at Central. This run set the tone for a three game sweep by the Cardinals of O-F.

"You play so comfortable and loose when you have a big lead like that," Franson said. "You're not anxious about the next point. You can run some different sets on offense and experiment a little bit and get other players in the game as well. Of course, it's very exciting with your fans behind and the momentum's with you."

Franson started the run with an ace that tied the score at 2-2. She had five of her six aces in the match in that first game. The run eventually got to as much as 15-2 with a pair of kills from junior Gabby Franck before a missed served ended it. The Cards dominated the rest of the game to win 25-9.

Osseo-Fairchild did the same to the Redbirds with their own service run to start Game 2. Freshman Jianna Scheffer helped put the Thunder up 8-1 helped by one of her own aces and a pair of kills from teammate Bryssa Johnson. But OFHSD could not hold onto the lead and thus outscored 24-9 the rest of the way. The Cards picked and pecked their way back, eventually tying the score at 11-11 after a Kill ny Neeley Lasher. And ace by Vittoria Ciavari, one of 13 aces for E-S in the match (compared to the Thunder's six) put E-S ahead to stay and they went onto win 25-17, the same score they won Game 3 by.

E-S junior middle Aliza Kulig dominated at the net with a match-high 13 kills while Franck had seven and Lasher scored five. O-F was led by Johnson's four kills and two aces while Scheffer had three kills and an ace.

Eleva-Strum, 12-9 overall, was off on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and is back in action Thursday, Oct. 10 at the Dairyland Conference's second place team Cochrane-Fountain City. They close league play next week hosting No. 1 ranked Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran on Tuesday, Oct. 15 and are at Augusta on Thursday, Oct. 17.

O-F, 1-16 overall, lost this past Tuesday 3-1 at Blair-Taylor as the Wildcats' Andrea Waldera led her team with 11 kills , four blocks and two aces and was named WHTL 102.3 FM's Player of the Match. O-F has its Homecoming match Thursday, looking for its first Dairyland Conference, win hosting Melrose-Mindoro. They'll also aim for wins at their own invitational meet this Saturday at O-F beginning at 9 a.m., six-team round-robin with Mel-Min., Whitehall, Durand-Arkansaw, Neillsville/Granton and Thorp along with the host Thunder.

Augusta had its own "Dig Pink" event on Tuesday against No.1 ranked Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran at AHS but the Lancers won in three straight for their 56th straight league win. Last week Thursday, Oct. 3 the Beavers, 4-14 overall, lost at home to Alma/Pepin by a 3-1 margin. They host Whitehall on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 7:15 p.m., are at C-FC next Tuesday, Oct. 15 before closing at home vs. Eleva-Strum on Oct. 17.