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Lady Miners triumph over Zephyrs, Cards
Shulls VB Lutes spike color
SHULLSBURG SENIOR Blaire Lutes (#3) drives one of her 20 kills past a Benton blocker during the Miners 3-1 victory over the Zephyrs on Tuesday, Sept. 18. Also pictured for the Miners is libero Rayvn Gile (#20).

    SHULLSBURG – The Shullsburg varsity volleyball team wrapped up the first half of the Six Rivers West season by rallying past Benton, 3-1, in the Battle of Highway 11 on Tuesday evening, then the Lady Miners (9-6 overall, 5-2 in SRW) returned home on Thursday and kicked off the second half of the season with an impressive sweep over Highland.
    The Miners’ current three-match winning streak has thrust them into a tie for second-place in the league standings with River Ridge, behind leader Potosi (7-0).
    Shullsburg has a chance to jump into the thick of the conference title race over the next week. The Miners head to Patch Grove to face the Timberwolves on Thursday, Sept. 27, and they host Potosi in another key match on Tuesday, Oct. 2.
    The Miners will also be in action at the Darlington Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29, beginning at 9 a.m.
    At Benton, on Tuesday, Sept. 18, the visiting Miners dropped the opening game to the Zephyrs, then rallied with three straights hard-fought wins to pull out a tough 3-1 SRW victory.
    “It was a hard fought game. Benton wasn’t going down without a fight,” said Shullsburg head coach Hannah Rennert. “We played really well and did the things we needed to in order to win.”
    The Zephyrs (1-5) started the night with a 25-19 win, but the Miners came right back in set two and tied the match back up with a 25-22 decision.
    Shullsburg eked out a 25-23 win in set three to grab a 2-1 advantage, and they put the match away by holding off a late Zephyr surge with another 25-22 win in set four.
    Senior Blaire Lutes pounded home a match-high 20 kills and made a team-best 27 digs to lead the Miners.
    Junior Nicole Champion handed out 21 assists and served up three aces for the victors, while freshman Paige Hauser and sophomore Emily Morrissey led the team with two blocks apiece.
    Sarah Redfearn led the Zephyrs with 13 kills and four blocks, while Bailey Redfearn notched seven aces. Alyssa Leeser distributed 21 assists for the hosts, and Shirley Kisting had 13 digs.
    At Shullsburg, on Thursday, Sept. 20, the Lady Miners were strong right up until the end once again as they swept the visiting Highland Cardinals, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) for their third straight SRW victory.
    “The girls played a well-rounded game,” Coach Hannah Rennert commented. 
    Junior outside hitter Holly Rennert led the Miners with 15 kills, four aces and a block, and senior outside hitter Blaire Lutes tallied 13 kills and 26 digs. Sophomore libero Rayvn Gile added 24 digs for the hosts.
    Setters Nicole Champion (17) and Stephanie Roberts (16) combined for 33 assists in the win.
    Brenna Bomkamp registered six kills and two blocks for Highland (3-4).
     
Shullsburg…  19   25   25   25
Benton.……..  25   22   23   22

Highland……  22     20     22
Shullsburg…  25     25     25