Last week on Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Saxony Lutheran volleyball team hosted St. Vincent in a Class 2 District 3 matchup, which ended in favor of the Crusaders at 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-14).
“We started strong then struggled a little but managed to come back for the win,” Saxony head coach Emily Wahlers said. “So proud of how the girls worked to make it happen.”
This was Saxony’s fifth win of the season as the team is now 7-15-2 overall following wins over Bell City and Meadow Heights over the weekend.
Leading the way for the Crusaders in their win over district opponent St. Vincent was senior Abbi Thomason and junior Lauren Barnes, who combined for 22 kills and 46 digs. Barnes led Saxony’s offense with 12 kills of her own as she tied with Thomason for the most digs at 23.
Also stepping up offensively for Saxony were the likes of juniors Isabella Deckers and Carly Summers, who each finished with five kills. Fellow junior Anna Thomason paced them with four kills of her own while also blocking two of St. Vincent’s shots at the net.
Another Crusader to have a big night defensively was sophomore libero Anna Mueller, who made several digs throughout the match to keep plays alive in order for Saxony to score points.
Distributing the ball for most of the contest to Saxony’s hitters were junior setters Emma Voelker and Rylea Lohmann, who recorded 18 and 17 assists, respectively.
This win over St. Vincent could have earned the Crusaders the No. 1 seed in this year’s Class 2 District 3 Tournament, which Saxony will host starting on Oct. 26.
Other teams in C2D3 include Charleston, East Prairie and Scott City. The Crusaders will not face Charles-ton this regular season, but they have already defeated Scott City 2-0 and travel to East Prairie for the regular-season finale Oct. 22.
Saxony has been able to reach the district championship match the past three seasons, but the team has been unable to win the title each time. Last fall, the Crusaders fell to Woodland 2-0 in the C2D2 Championship.
