WARNER – Aberdeen Roncalli couldn’t find its rhythm Tuesday night, and after a strong first-set, sputtered to a straight-sets loss to the Class B top-ranked Warner Monarchs in a non-conference volleyball contest. Warner claimed the victory 25-22, 25-8, 25-16.
“We definitely didn’t play our best tonight,” said Roncalli coach Leesa Ware. “We had multiple defensive, serve receive and serving errors that contributed to our loss.”
Warner put together a strong presence at the net (42 kills) and at the service line (six aces) to help keep the visiting Cavaliers off-balance. The Monarchs leaned on Jaycee Jung and Miah Leidholt at the net. Jung notched 15 kills and Leidholt contributed nine for the hosts. The two also had 12 and 11 digs, respectively, to lead that category, as well.
“Kudos to Warner,” Ware said, “they are a very solid team.”
Grace Cogley had six kills to lead the way for Roncalli. Jill Ellwein added five. That front-line pair also led the way in digs, finishing with a combined 27.
But the kicker, Ware said, was in the team’s inability to get into a flow.
“The girls stopped communicating and when that happens, we tend to have increased errors,” she said. “We have many things to work on in practice (Wednesday) to get ready for Clark-Willow Lake on Thursday.”
Roncalli, 8-2 on the season, will return home for that contest, hosting the fourth-ranked Cyclones in a Northeast Conference showdown at Roncalli Gym. Warner, now 18-3, will host Herreid-Selby Area on Thursday.
Serving: Aberdeen Roncalli (Kenzington Basham 2 aces, Cambry Feickert 1 ace); Warner 69-73 6 aces (Courtney Leidholt 18-18 2 aces, Kaydee Mackner 14-14 2 aces, Keira Steger 18-18 1 ace).
Hitting: Aberdeen Roncalli (Grace Cogley 6 kills, Jill Ellwein 5, Karsyn Davis 2, Gabby Thomas 2); Warner 104-119 42 kills (Jaycee Jung 37-44 16 kills, Miah Leidholt 21-24 9 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Roncalli (Elyana Roach 15 assists); Warner 114-116 38 assists (Claire Bakeberg 55-57 21 assists, Tatum Hanson 33-33 11 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Roncalli (Cogley 15, Ellwein 12, Feickert 9); Warner 57 (Jung 12, M. Leidholt 11).
Blocks: Aberdeen Roncalli (Thomas 1 solo, Felicity Cogley 1 solo); Warner (Lilly Meehan 3 assists, Kya Townsend 3 assists).
Records: Aberdeen Roncalli 8-2; Warner 18-3.
