By Sydney Bartels
Conference sports competitions are always a big deal. It’s never any different at the Twin Valley Conference. The Silver Lake volleyball team showed up in Franklin on Saturday, October 16 ready to take down the Flyers. The Mustangs took the lead, winning the match in two sets over the Flyers. Junior Georgi tenBensel had 13 kills, senior Katelyn Karr had 17 digs, and Junior Lexi Wengler had 11 assists. Coming off the win against Franklin, the ladies were ready to take on the Shelton Bulldogs for the third time this season. The Mustangs started off strong, playing right with the Bulldogs right up until the final point, but ending up just short of 25 with the score 26-24. Going into the second set, the lady Mustangs struggled to get on a streak and fell to the Bulldogs zero sets to two. Karr worked hard in the back row, picking up 22 serve receives, while sophomore Morgan Dinkler kept the play alive with eight assists.
The team was set to play again on Monday for the third/fourth place game against the Deshler Dragons. The Lady Mustangs got off on the wrong foot, losing the first two sets to the Dragons. They came back and won the third and fourth set 25-13 and 25-21. The Mustangs continued the fight into the fifth set, but couldn’t quite upset the Dragons, losing the game two sets to three. Even considering the loss, the ladies had a lot to be proud of that night. Karr broke her own record of digs per game with 49. tenBensel tied the record for most kills in a game with 27, and the team as a whole broke the record for digs in a match with 161. Dinkler added to the stats with 23 assists and Wengler with another 18. Sophomore Sydney Bartels had an ace, with senior Trista Hanson adding another two. Junior Josi Sharp had a solo block, while junior Brooklyn Meyer had nine digs. Coach Jennifer tenBensel commented, “TVC showed our girls how important it is to come out ready to play. Against Franklin, the girls came out very strong, keeping that momentum and intensity all throughout the game, whereas when we played Deshler, it took us a while to get that momentum. It showed us how important starting each game strong is in every game.”