Chiefs push through for an opening win, fall to Lancers
Cornell senior Michayla Turchen sends the ball over to Siren, on her home court Oct. 18, in a first-round playoff game. Photo by Ginna Young
By Ginna Young
Going into the WIAA volleyball playoffs, Cornell was seeded the highest they’ve ever been (No. 5), which allowed them to host the opening round.
Oct. 18 vs. Siren (W 3-1)
No. 12 Siren came to call on the Chiefs, proving to be a tougher team than anticipated. The first set went to Cornell, 28-26, but it was a hard-fought win.
Siren wouldn’t stop there and reeled in a 26-24 second-set win. Cornell rallied the troops and with loud encouragement from the stands, won the third set, 25-8, then the fourth and final set, 25-16, to advance to the next round.
Senior Michayla Turchen notched 17 kills and 15 digs, while sophomore Bralee Schroeder had 6 kills, 12 assists and 6 aces, with 26 attempts and 0 errors. Junior Brooke Anderson notched 8 kills and 18 digs on the night, while junior Brooke Sime ended with 6 aces and 6 kills.
Sophomore Makya Hetherington came up with 6 kills, 30 assists and 10 digs, and junior Teryn Close recorded 12 digs.
Oct. 20 vs. E.C. Immanuel (L 3-0)
In the second round of Regional action, the Chiefs traveled to No. 4 E.C. Immanuel, where Cornell looked to advance to Sectional competition.
The Lancers took advantage of home court familiarity, taking the first set 25-12, followed by the second set, 25-15.
“During the third set, the Chiefs were able to get momentum and had made the adjustments needed to challenge the Lancers, but came up short, with a score of 25-21,” said coach Amy Lorenzen.
Thus ended Cornell’s season, which included winning the East Lakeland Conference title and an undefeated league record.
During the Immanuel game, Turchen had 4 blocks, 5 kills, 1 ace and 8 digs, with Anderson finishing with 5 kills and 9 digs. Hetherington had 10 assists, 4 kills and 8 digs, and Sime added 7 digs and 4 kills.
Emma Lechleitner, Lake Holcombe junior, taps the ball over the net to Winter, in the Chieftains last home game of the year Oct. 14.
