WELLS – The final tally was 3-0 in favor of the United South Central Rebels.

Wednesday, September 05, 2001

WELLS – The final tally was 3-0 in favor of the United South Central Rebels.

For the Albert Lea Tigers, it probably seemed closer.

The Tigers lost all three games but kept them close in a nonconference volleyball match, falling 18-16, 15-11 and 15-11 at Wells Tuesday night.

&uot;USC had a good team out there,&uot; said Albert Lea coach Gina Eppen. &uot;They were very scrappy defensively. Not many balls hit the floor on them. But our kids played very hard.&uot;

One difference in the match was serving. The Tigers missed several key ones, converting 68 of 80 overall.

The Tigers’ statistical leaders were Beth Kolling, 10 digs, eight assists, four kills; Jenny Vanderploeg, 10 kills, 10 digs; Aubree Page, 12 kills, two blocks; Ashley Rankin, 15 assists, five digs; Amie Hartman, 10 digs.

Amanda Arendt came off the bench to fill in nicely for some players nursing injuries, according to Eppen.

The loss dropped the Tigers’ record to 1-2.

It was the first win in three matches this season for the Rebels.

Nichole Fulton led USC at the net, going 18-for-23 with 18 kills; she also served six aces, going 19-for-20. Bridget Satre was 20-for-20 serving with three aces, Hilary Wacholz 15-for-18 with one ace. Danielle Banashak was 17-for-26 on attacks, with eight kills. Wacholz had 17 set assists.

&uot;We’re working on becoming more confident,&uot; said Eppen. &uot;There are times when we just need to decide we’re going to win a game. It’s difficult sometimes because some of these girls haven’t won a lot of games. It’s a hurdle we need to overcome, especially with the Big Nine coming up.&uot;

The Tigers host Owatonna Thursday.

The Rebels have their South Central Conference opener Thursday at Fairmont.