Brooklyn Edwards Led The Way For The Wolverines As They Topped The HMS Hawks.

Jinger Nieuwenhuis Keeps Her Eye On The Ball While Patrolling The Back Row.

South O’Brien and Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn squared off for the third time this season when the teams met September 28 at Paullina. This time a War Eagle Conference win was at stake. And for the third time it was the Wolverines coming away with the victory as they swept HMS 25-16, 25-23 and 25-22. South O’Brien improved to 3-5 in conference play and raised its overall record to 6-13.
“What a win!” exclaimed Wolverine head coach Amy Schmidt. “Our C and JV teams got the night started off with both winning their matches 2-0. The varsity came out with a great deal of competitiveness and it showed. There were a few times that we had lapses in our performance, communication and judgment, but the girls never hung their heads or gave up on each other. We were so pleased to see them encourage and lift each other up when needed.
“Overall, we played well offensively. Brooklyn had a fabulous senior night out on the floor. She continues to be our mainstay as our offensive threat with tough attacks and serves. Her net performance was complimented by other great performances from Reese (Farquhar), Chloe (Hustedt) and senior Marissa (Ebel).
“Defensively, we only had three solo blocks, but they were big blocks. We had a few other rejections at the net, however, HMS kept those in play. There were quite a few long rallies that we were pleased with how well the girls covered the court. Our back row defense continues to be lead by Abby (Nelson) in addition to senior Jinger (Nieuwenhuis), Reese and Chloe. These girls are more consistent in playing smart and aggressive.
Ashlynn (Gunnerson) had a great night as well, getting the ball to our hitters. We believe that if we can keep her out of the net, she can get better sets to our hitters and our chances of terminating the play increase a great deal.
“We were so excited to see the number of fans there tonight, although there were so many events going on besides volleyball. As a coach, I appreciate the parents who cheer and get excited for these girls, whether it’s their own daughter or a teammate of hers. It’s all a part of working together, supporting each other. The Wolverines did a great job of this tonight!”
Edwards was 19-for-19 on the attack with 11 kills. Gunnerson’s assist total was 35 and she served 14-for-16 with two aces. Edwards served 11-for-12 with another pair of aces. Wolverines with one solo block apiece were Hustedt, Farquhar and Taylor Wulf. The digs stats showed Nelson with 17, Farquhar with nine, Hustedt with eight and Gunnerson and Nieuwenhuis with seven apiece.
South O’Brien Stats
Kills-Errors-Attempts (Kill Efficiency): Team 37-11-85 (.306), Ashlynn Gunnerson 1-0-1 (1.000), Chloe Hustedt 6-3-17 (.176), Abby Nelson 0-0-2 (.000); Reese Farquhar 8-2-13 (.462), Marissa Ebel 7-4-21 (.143), Taylor Wulf 4-2-12 (.167), Brooklyn Edwards 11-0-19 (.579).
Assists: Ashlynn Gunnerson 35, Farquhar 1.
Digs: Team 58, Abby Nelson 17, Farquhar 9, Hustedt 8, Gunnerson, Jinger Nieuwenhuis 7, Ebel 5, Edwards 4, Wulf 1.
Blocks: Hustedt, Farquhar, Wulf 1 solo.
Serving (Efficiency): Team 64-73 (.877) 9 aces, Gunnerson 14-16 (.875) 2 aces, Hustedt 9-10 (.900) 1 ace, Nelson 5-8 (.625), Farquhar 14-15 (.933) 1 ace, Ebel 11-12 (.917) 3 aces, Edwards 11-12 (.917) 2 aces.