Jump serve befuddles Blackhawks

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

MADELIA -- Before the season began, Springfield sophomore Krystal Schwanke was looking for another weapon to add to an arsenal that already included a strong net game.

On Tuesday against Madelia, she showed it off.

Schwanke displayed a jump serve that the Madelia defense couldn't handle, racking up 16 service points and six ace serves. She also made her presence felt at the net with nine kills and six blocks as Springfield won it's first game of the season 20-25, 25-7, 25-19, 25-15 in nonconference volleyball action.

"This is the first year I tried it, and last year I did not serve at all," Schwanke said. "I was not very good at it, and I worked all summer long on it and was able to accomplish it. I'm very happy."

Katlin McNutt had 16 service points and three ace serves. Alissa Domeier had nine kills while Tori Jones had three kills and five blocks. Amber Lindmeier also had six kills.

Amanda Lipetzky and Brianne Hoyt shared the passing duties, each distributing 14 set assists.

"I was pleased with our passing," Springfield coach Lincoln Robinson said. "Serve receives, in my mind, was a question coming in -- that's something we've been struggling with. Other than that first game, I thought our serve receive wasn't too bad."

The Tigers (1-0) youth showed in the first game in a 25-20 loss. But they were quick to learn from their mistakes and it showed with a dominant second game.

"I think a lot of it was nerves," Schwanke said. "I don't think we were talking as much and we just weren't playing our game. We're really good at coming back."

"I told the girls we're going to go through some growing pains, and I think we did in the first one," Robinson said.

A Madelia hitting error gave the Tigers a 8-3 lead, prompting a timeout by the Blackhawks. The stoppage of play didn't work to Madelia's favor as Schwanke rattled off a couple ace serves to give them a 13-4 lead. Wilhelmi's ace tip made it 14-4 and the Tigers stretched the lead to 16-4, forcing another timeout for the Blackhawks.

"We were playing together as a team, and when we do that, we can dominate, and everything goes awesome," Schwanke said.

The Blackhawks and Tigers kept trading possessions in the third game until the Tigers went up 12-9 on a Domeier hit that found the hardwood.

Springfield kept playing its fast-paced style and went up 18-12 on Schwanke's tip and 19-12 on her kill.

"We wanna come out and play a higher, up-tempo game -- I think that's the way that the game is evolving," Robinson said. "We wanna keep a quick tempo, high tempo going."

The Tigers again took care of business in the fourth game and went up 11-5 thanks to a net violation by the Blackhawks.

Later, Domeier's tip gave the Tigers a 23-15 lead and the Tigers won the last game 25-15.

Madelia (0-3) is at the Sleepy Eye Tournament Saturday while Springfield is at Minnesota Valley Lutheran Thursday.