MARSHALL’S PLAN
LaPorte libero’s defense, on display in win . against Valparaiso
To earn a varsity spot, LaPorte junior Lesley Marshall went to the beach.
Through her club team, the 5-foot-4 libero spent the summer playing in beach volleyball tournaments in nearby Michigan City.
“It helped with my reaction time because it’s harder to move in the sand,” she said. “There’s also a lot more ground to cover, so you have the mentality when you come inside for volleyball that everything’s mine.”
That summer dedication helped Marshall earn the starting libero role for the Slicers, and she’s flourished in that position all season. At home against Valparaiso on Tuesday, Marshall had a team-high 26 digs as the Slicers won 25-12, 25-21, 25-20 in a Duneland Athletic Conference match.
LaPorte (25-3, 13-0), which has clinched the DAC title, jumped out to a quick lead in the first set and didn’t look back. The Vikings (18-12, 8-5) remained closer in the second and third sets before late spurts by LaPorte sealed the win.
Marshall, who entered the match with a team-high 433 digs, said she’s also found success this season by being in the right spot before every attempted kill.
“I’ve worked on setting myself up for success by being in good position before their hitting,” she said.
Coach Jessica Ramirez said Marshall’s ability to read the play is one of her strongest assets as a libero.
“She has a real fast reaction time and knows how to anticipate what’s coming from the other side of the net,” Ramirez said. “That’s a huge part of volleyball. If you know where the ball is going before it’s hit, that’s a huge advantage.”
While Marshall led the Slicers’ defense, their usual bevy of hitters steered the offense. Senior Paige Conklin led with 12 kills, while classmates Olivia Voelker and Justine Talbert each had nine.
Ramirez said she hasn’t had many complaints about her team’s performance in recent weeks.
“I’d say we’ve been on an upward climb for sure,” she said. “At this point in the season, we’re tweaking little things. But they’re a well-oiled machine.”
Valparaiso was led by sophomore outside hitter Kennedy Wagner, who had 16 kills, while sophomore setter Camryn Kreul had 23 assists and 12 digs.
The Vikings entered the night with nine wins in 12 matches over the past three weeks, including conference wins over Lake Central and Chesterton.
Coach Katie Lenard said a busy schedule that featured three matches during the week with tournaments on Saturday had its benefits.
“With all that gameplay, which did make us tired, we were able to work out some kinks and work on our communication,” she said. “We got to know what it was like playing with different people on the court.”
Against LaPorte, t hough, Lenard said her team didn’t recover quickly enough from a slow start.
“Each game we got a little bit better, a little bit stronger in what we were doing,” she said. “We started playing our game more, especially in the third set.”