The Howells-Dodge Jaguars won the Clarkson/Leigh Tournament on Saturday, defeating Oakland-Craig and Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 2-0, and David City Aquinas 2-1, before beating Stanton 3-1 at home Tuesday night.
The Jaguars beat the Knights 25-20 in set one, and 25-21 in set two.
Kalli Brester had 11 kills and 7 digs while Jessi Brester totaled 10 digs. Sam Brester and Macey Kulhanek notched 9 digs apiece while Tessa Brester recorded 7 digs and 19 set assists.
The Monarchs took the first set 25-12 before Howells-Dodge won the second set 25-17, and the third set 25-18.
Kalli Brester posted 17 kills and 7 digs while Sam Brester notched 8 kills. Kulhanek added 12 digs while Tessa Brester registered 8 digs and 25 set assists.
The Jaguars downed the Bulldogs 25-23 in set one, and 25-18 in set two.
Sam Brester finished with 9 kills while Kulhanek, Hailey Coufal, Kalli Brester, and Haley Eikmeier had 14, 11, 9, and 8 digs, respectively. Tessa Brester dished out 24 set assists.
Howells-Dodge defeated the Mustangs 25-19 in set one, 25-18 in set two, and 25-20 in set four. Stanton took set three 25-21.
Kalli Brester totaled 19 kills and 10 digs while Sam Brester posted 13 kills. Kulhanek recorded 22 digs while Tessa Brester and Emily Ritzdorf chipped in 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Tessa Brester added 41 set assists.
Head Coach Neil VanLengen says his team is starting to figure it out. "We are starting to learn what it means to play hard on every point. Against Aquinas in the finals of the C/L tournament, we got beat 25-12 in the first set because we didn't play hard enough. The girls made the commitment to play hard on every point, and to be more aggressive hitting and serving, and it helped us come back and win. The first two sets against Stanton, this continued as we played very hard. We let down a little in the 3rd, but came back strong in the 4th for the win."
VanLengen adds his team was ready for the Mustangs even though Stanton was without one of their star players. "We just realize that we have to play hard all the time, and we did a great job against Stanton. With Jessie Brandl out with mono, the girls still did a great job of being focused to get a win against a very good team."
VanLengen says his squad had an advantage in certain aspects of the game, according to stats. "Both teams had the same amount of kills and serve receive percentage was the same, by my calculations. We had 5 more blocks, 6 more ace serves, and 10 fewer hitting errors."
Howells-Dodge (17-1) has the Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family Tourney on Saturday.
VanLengen says the Jaguars need to be focused on Saturday and be over the Stanton win. "We treat every game, and every point as its own entity. Whatever has happened in the past is over, the most important point of our season is the next one."
Howells-Dodge has the East Husker Conference Tournament next week, and then a tough match at North Bend Central after that, so the Jaguars have to remain focused and keep on winning.
All this leads up to Sub District play. VanLengen says they haven't seen the last of the Mustangs. "Again, with Jessie Brandl out, it gives us a little confidence, but they will be very motivated when we play them in Conference and Sub-Districts. I think those will be some of the most intense games that I have ever been a part of."
It's certainly possible that Stanton and Howells-Dodge could meet in the East Husker Conference Tournament in Sub Districts, and as VanLengen said, those would be great matches.
The Jaguars have to concern themselves with the Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family Tournament this weekend though.
Howells-Dodge has to come out and play well, and have good matches on Saturday.
The Jaguars have to really want it, and have to be driven to have success.
Howells-Dodge has done some marvelous things this season, but there's still plenty of work to do.
Now is not the time to celebrate if you are the Jaguars.
There's still the conference tournament, sub districts, a district final, and state should Howells-Dodge make it that far.
The Jaguars have done some great things this year, but Howells-dodge has to keep their foot on the pedal, and want more.
The Jaguars have to keep the mojo going on Saturday.
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