The Minnewaska Area volleyball team opened up the season with a 3-0 victory at Benson last Tuesday night.  The Lakers dominated the match and upped their play in each game during the 25-22, 25-19, 25-13 win.

The Lakers also hosted BOLD, Thursday, losing in four close games, 25-19, 25-18, 11-25, 25-10.

The Lakers, coached by Michele Johnson, who is assisted this year by Caleb Greene, Jackie Skoglund and Kari Nelson, are set to play at Montevideo, Tuesday (tomorrow) before hosting West Central Area, Thursday.

Minnewaska 3, Benson 0

The Lakers earned a win in their season opener at Benson, playing better and better with each game.

The Lakers served at a 86.5 percent clip with 11 aces and 10 errors.  Dreya Barsness led the way with three ace-serves, while Avery Fier, Brooklyn Meyer and Haley Shea each had two.

Minnewaska Area also had a strong attack game against the Braves with 15 errors and 34 kills on 95 attacks.

Barsness led the way with 12 kills, while Dacia Fleury added nine, Fier had seven kills on only 11 attempts with no errors and Miaya Guggisberg had four kills.

Shea also led the Lakers with 28 set assists, while Fier had the only block of the match for the Lakers and Barsness led the team with 14 digs, followed by Fier with 12, Schultz with nine, and Shea with six.

During the opener, the Lakers played eight players, including six juniors, one sophomore and one eighth-grader.

Emma Krusemark was the leader for Benson with five set assists, two kills and nine digs.

BOLD 3, Minnewaska 1

The Lakers had their chances against the Warriors during a 25-19, 25-18, 11-25, 25-10 loss at home, Thursday.

Minnewaska trailed 9-4 and 14-9 in the first game before cutting the deficit to 20-18 only to have BOLD win five of the final six points.

In the second game, the Lakers led 7-2, but BOLD turned things around and led 13-10 moments later on the way to a 25-18 second-game win.

The Lakers dominated the third game, winning 25-11, before BOLD bounced back with a dominating 25-10 win in the final game.

Minnewaska Area served at a 89 percent clip with Dacia Fleury going 11-for-12 with an ace and Dreya Barsness going 11-for-11 with an ace.

Barsness led the Lakers with 11 kills, while Fleury and Avery Fier both had six and Miaya Guggisberg added four.  Haley Shea had 28 set assists to lead her team, while Haillie Schultz and Guggisberg both had one block, and Fleury had a team-best 15 digs, followed by Barsness with 11 and Fier with 10.

Minnewaska 3, at Benson 0

Minnewaska (1-0) 25 25 25

Benson 22 19 13

WASKA STATS  (good-attempts-aces):  Serving:  Dreya Barsness 3 aces, Avery Fier 2, Brooklyn Meyer 2, Haley Shea 2, Haillie Schultz 1, Dacia Fleury 1 . . . Set assists:  Shea 28, Fier 1

Hitting:  Barsness 31-35-12, Fleury 15-20-9, Fier 11-11-7, Miaya Guggisberg 11-15-4, Schultz 6-8-1, Shea 6-6-1 . . . Digs:  Barsness 14, Fier 12, Schultz 9, Shea 6 . . Blocks:  Fier 1

—————————-

BOLD 3, at Minnewaska 1

BOLD 25 25 11 25

Minnewaska 19 18 25 10

WASKA STATS  (good-attempts-aces):  Serving:  Avery Fier 18-20-2, Dacia Fleury 11-12-1, Dreya Barsness 11-11-1, Haley Shea 9-11-2, Brooklyn Meyer 7-8-1, Haillie Schultz 6-8-0, Amanda Lohre 2-2-1, Grace Zenk 1-1-0 . . . Set assists:  Shea 28, Fier 1, Fleury 1

Hitting:  Barsness 30-36-11, Fleury 15-21-6, Fier 24-31-6, Miaya Guggisberg 10-11-4, Schultz 10-11-3, Shea 11-12-1, Meyer 1-1-1 . . . Digs:  Fleury 15, Barsness 11, Fier 10, Shea 8, Schultz 4, Meyer 3, Guggisberg 1 . . Blocks:  Schultz 1, Guggisberg 1