Lions Fall to Storm, Trojans (9-13-11)

Louisville dropped a pair of matches at the Elkhorn South Triangular, losing to the fourth-ranked Storm (0-2) before losing to Platteview (1-2).

Elkhorn South Defeats Louisville 25-17, 25-23
Storyline: In set one, Louisville had an 11-9 lead after back-to-back kills by Morgan Dittberner but Elkhorn South, ranked fourth in Class B by both the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal-Star, rattled off six straight points to take the lead for good. A Storm hitting error and a Dittberner ace serve temporarily halted the surge but Elkhorn South outscored LHS 6-2 before a Sam Lane ace block to make the score 21-16. A kill by Elkhorn South’s Lauren Sieckmann and blocks by Emily Gregan and Brittany Cech helped the Storm gain the 25-17 win.

Elkhorn South jumped out to a seven point lead at 12-5 but Louisville fought hard using the hitting of Tori Dean, Natalie Minchow and Lane, an ace by Shepard and six Storm unforced errors to eventually tie the score at 18 apiece. But the Lions were outscored 7-5 the rest of the way led by Emily Hardin who gained an assist and a kill on the final two Storm points as LHS fell, 25-23.

Key Stat: Elkhorn South has dropped just three sets this season while accumulating an 8-1 record.

Elkhorn South (kills-aces-blocks): L. Hays 0-1-1, A. Gaggini 4-0-0, B. Cech 2-0-1, E. Gregan 4-0-3, B. Madden 1-0-0, E. Hardin 3-1-0, A. Routh 0-1-0, L. Sieckmann 6-0-1, H. Black 1-0-1
Louisville (kills-aces-blocks): S. Lane 4-0-0, T. Dean 2-0-0, M. Shepard 0-1-0, M. Poland 0-0-0, J. Marcoe 0-0-0, N. Minchow 3-0-0, M. Dittberner 3-0-0
Set assists: Shepard (6), Minchow (5), Dean (1)

Platteview Pulls Out 2-1 Win Over Lions
Storyline: Louisville used the momentum gained from the final game of the Elkhorn South match to earn a 27-25 victory in the first set. Natalie Minchow and Sam Lane had five and four kills, respectively in the first set win.

But the Trojans used huge runs in games two and three to win the match. Tied at 9-9 In set two, Christa Manning was on the line for 12 straight points, five of which came off of LHS miscues. A similar fate met Louisville in game three, a 25-12 Trojan victory. With Platteview on top 10-7, the Trojans scored 14 straight points to take a commanding 24-7 lead. The Lions rallied on a Sam Lane block, kills by Madison Shepard and Natalie Minchow along with a McKenna Zahn ace but Rachel O’Donnell’s ninth kill of the night ended the set with Platteview ahead, 25-12.

Key Stat: Louisville had 13 kills in the first game win but totaled just seven in the final two games. Serving has been one of the Lions' strengths but LHS committed six service errors in the final two sets.

Next Up: Ashland-Greenwood hosts the Lions on Thursday with varsity action scheduled to begin at 7:00.

Platteview (kills-aces-blocks): E. Iverson 1-0-0, K. Gilleland 0-0-0, C. Manning 1-2-0, N. Stolzer 2-0-0, S. Feller 7-2-1, R. O'Donnell 8-1-0, A. Feller 2-2-0, S. Swanson 4-1-0
Louisville (kills-aces-blocks): S. Lane 5-0-2, M. Zahn 0-2-0, T. Dean 4-1-1,
M. Shepard 3-0-0, J. Marcoe 0-0-1, N. Minchow 7-0-0, M. Dittberner 2-0-2, H. Rose 0-1-0
Set assists: Shepard (6), Minchow (10)

Statistics are unofficial.