Marshall outlasts Eagles

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Leading 6-1 in the fifth game of an error-filled match that eventually lasted 2 hours and 18 minutes, Marshall coach Terry Culhane took aside junior setter Kellie Ahmann. The advice was simple.

"He was talking a lot about watching our hitters, how we needed to find a leader," Ahmann said. "He said we needed to find our main hitter and make sure she got the ball."

It was really that simple.

Ahmann found fellow junior Laura Wudel three times in the next eight points. It was part of an 11-point run by the Tigers that led them to a 10-15, 16-14, 15-2, 7-15, 15-1 nonconference volleyball win over the New Ulm High Eagles.

Essentially it came down to this. When the Tigers looked good, they looked good; when the Tigers looked bad, they looked bad.

"I was really impressed with how New Ulm went after the ball," Culhane said. "We just lack so much consistency. ... We're just battling consistency right now and until we get some kids to step up we're going to have those roller coaster rides."

Wudel and senior Jamie Brink led Marshall (2-1) with 13 kills each. Laura VanOverbeke added seven kills for the Tigers.

Ahmann finished the match with 44 set assists.

But the Tigers also struggled mightily against New Ulm High (1-2). The Eagles' gameplan was to keep the ball alive and let the other team make mistakes.

In the two games Marshall dropped, the Tigers didn't disappoint New Ulm High. And the Eagles were more than willing to capitalize.

"That's what we have to do," New Ulm High coach Becky Otte said. "We just have to keep sending them the ball until they make the mistakes, and hope we don't make too many of our own."

A case in point -- in the first game, the Eagles picked up 14 points off Marshall errors or violations. And on the other end of the spectrum, in the third game, Marshall only committed four errors total and all were for sides out.

When the Tigers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first game, it didn't look like it would be much of a match. It looked like the Eagles would be overwhelmed by the Tigers' height advantage and their bigger hitters.

But the errors mounted for Marshall. And the Eagles' hard-working defense was the reason; many of the Tigers' errors came largely out of frustration at not being able to find a place on the court where the Eagles couldn't get to the ball.

With the first game tied at 4, New Ulm High took a 6-4 lead on a pair of Marshall violations. The Eagles upped the lead to 9-6 on a Tiff Drill kill and two more Tiger errors.

Leading 9-7, the Eagles went on a five-point run on the serve of Christine Wendinger, picking up four points on Marshall hitting errors. After the Tigers got a mini-rally going, an Allison Boddy kill got a side out and the Eagles went up a game on yet another hitting error by the Tigers.

The Eagles hung in.

Even after the debacle in game three, the Eagles still wouldn't surrender. New Ulm High outlasted Marshall 15-7 in a game that saw the teams exchange 34 sides out.

And again, the Eagles were everywhere on defense. The Tigers got themselves into a hole and went down 4-0 to New Ulm High, committing three errors at the start of the game.

"When we were down, we didn't come back very well," Ahmann said. "I think it was just the intensity that we had."

After what could have been the Tigers' demise, though, they rallied in the final game against Eagles, who could do little with the block trying to stop Wudel and VanOverbeke, who had three kills in the fifth game.

"I'm happy with how we played," Otte said. "I'm not happy with the outcome because we lost. It was a disappointing fifth game. We were letting our mistakes snowball. It just becomes exponential when we don't cut it off."

Junior Stephanie Navara led the Eagles with seven kills. Drill and Boddy each added five kills.

Paa led the Eagles with 33 set assists and Boddy had 30 digs to top New Ulm High. Navara added 22 digs.