Trojans out-hit Flames
In its first Tri-City Athletic League home match of the season, the Lodi High volleyball team was looking to have a strong showing against visiting Lincoln.
But it was the Trojans who had the better display of ball movement against the Flames at The Inferno. That led to Lincoln sweeping Lodi 3-0; the final scores were 23-13, 25-16, 25-15.
After losing at Tracy in three games last Thursday, Lodi coach Brad Friesen said his squad had two good practices leading up to Tuesday’s contest. At the start of each of the three games, Lodi and Lincoln traded early leads in which each team executed from the other’s side outs and service errors. In the first game, Lodi (0-2 in the TCAL, 14-7) led 7-6 after a Trojan side out. But Lincoln (1-1 in the TCAL, 16-3) marched right back into the set with a 9-2 run, recording most of its points on side outs.
Keeping the ball in play and communication has led to the Flames’ success in preseason play. Friesen felt more than certain that his team would come out with the motivation to continue what it did in the preseason after a three-set league opening loss to the Bulldogs.
“Serving was an issue,” Friesen said. “We gave away too much. In this league, if you miss serves, and you give up easy points like we did tonight, that’s the result. We cannot give away points like that. And that’s the first time they’ve done it ... it’s kind of disappointing.”
Lodi continued to miss shots throughout the opening set. While trying to find any type of rhythm on offense, the Flames were able to take advantage of Trojan miscues to cut the lead at 21-11. But more volleyballs hitting the center and sides of the court without a return by the Flames led to the Trojans’ win.
Moving to the second set, Lincoln led from start to finish. Lodi closed the gap to an 11-9 Lincoln advantage, thanks to the service points that included an ace from Elliana Pappas. But the Trojans didn’t flinch, as they used a combination of service points and Flame side outs to register the win.
“A lot of communication breakdowns,” Friesen said.
Lodi outside hitter Kaylie Sauerland, a junior who started last year as a sophomore, felt communication could’ve been better on the court.
“I feel we need to hustle little more and be loud,” Sauerland said. “I feel that we did get some good hustle plays.”
The third game saw Lodi pick up its communication among its starters in Sauerland, Madison Steele, Katie Petersen, Madelyn Blandford, Gracie Diaz and Gianna Mora. Moving the ball and establishing short rallies seemed to help Lodi to cut the Trojans’ lead to 10-8, after Lincoln jumped out to an 8-2 lead.
“A lot of our juniors are our leaders,” Friesen said.
As the story was in the first two games, the Trojans, behind the play of libero Neena Dimas, Jaida Ward, Kennedy Greenwood, Angel Lambert, Deja Harris and Alyssa Brisby, dominated greater with their serving behind the line and play at the net that led to many kills and blocked shots. That led to a 17-12 lead, en route to the win and sweep of the Flames.
“To be honest, our effort was a lot better against Tracy,” Friesen said. “I thought we really had a good game plan. Eventually, we could not execute that. Like they say in volleyball, you’ve got to serve to pass, and we did not pass, which also affected our offense. We could not get our main hitters going ... we have a lot to correct.”
Blandford had eight digs for the Flames, and Petersen seven. Steele finished the contest with four kills and Diaz two aces.
Lodi continues league action at West on Thursday.