Kernels lose to Lynx in 5-set match

BRANDON — The Mitchell High School volleyball team lost in a tight five-set match against Eastern South Dakota Conference foe Brandon Valley Thursday night.

“Everybody in the ESD can beat anybody else on any given night, so you have to be ready,” Mitchell coach Deb Thill said after the match. “Both teams were tonight, but unfortunately it didn’t go our way.”

Set scores were 14-25, 25-18, 28-26, 20-25, 15-12.

Thill was happy with how her team played in comparison to Tuesday’s match against Yankton.

“We played much better and we served pretty well,” she said. “We made a lot of really nice plays defensively, and overall, it was a much better effort than Tuesday.”

Despite losing the third set, the Kernels were down 19-14 and came back to earn a few set points, Thill said.

“I liked the way we responded and didn’t give up,” Thill said. “But we made some errors at the wrong time and gave them the momentum. We had our chances but Brandon had a great effort.”

Taylin Alm had 23 kills in the loss. Emma Schmidt recorded 19 digs, Kerri Young had 13 kills and Kendra Morgan tallied 41 assists and 17 digs.

Megan Farnham had 19 digs, Sidney Neugebauer recorded three kills and seven digs and Jenna Neugebauer added 11 digs and four kills for the Kernels.

With the loss, Mitchell dropped to 8-5 on the season.

The Kernels continue their three-game road streak as they play Watertown at 7 p.m. Saturday.

JV: Brandon Valley, 13-25, 26-24, 25-23. Shelly Iburg had five aces, eight kills and three blocks.

Sophomores: Brandon Valley, 25-17, 25-14.

Freshmen A: Mitchell, 26-24, 25-16. Ally Goldammer four aces and four kills. Laura Freeman had two kills, two aces and two blocks.

Freshmen B: Brandon Valley, 25-20, 25-18.

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