LAKE MILLS — Kelsea Heintzman and Cede Byrnes put up some of the best numbers in the area while leading the Lake Mills volleyball team to a school record 46 wins.

Heintzman and Byrnes are the Tribune’s Volleyball Co-Players of the Year.

The Bulldogs spread the ball around to five hitters who had kills in the area’s top eight.

“We like to think we’re very balanced offensively,” said Lake Mills coach Jim Boehmer. “Sometimes numbers for our hitters aren’t gaudy because we’re sharing that number between five people.”

Making the passes to those hitters was Heintzman from the setter position. She amassed 1,165 assists, which was more than twice as many as anyone else in the area, the most in Class 2A and the second most in any class in the state of Iowa. Heintzman was also sixth in the area with 43 ace serves.

On her way to posting those numbers, Boehmer said Heintzman worked to get better, which included a few early-morning mid-season trips to the gym.

“She doesn’t like it if you’re not satisfied,” he said. “For me, that’s one of the best compliments a coach can give a player.”

Even with the balanced attack, Byrnes led the area with 315 kills, was second with 387 digs and tied with Heintzman in ace serves.

“It was somewhere in camp where she went from a good returning letter winner, a starter for us, to showing some signs of elite ability,” Boehmer said.

The chemistry between Heintzman and Byrnes has been building for since they were in fourth grade.

“We’d play for Northern Lights against other teams from the area and try to learn the game,” Heintzman said.

Back then, Heintzman was an outside hitter, and Byrnes was a setter. In seventh grade, Heintzman moved to setter and Byrnes took over as an outside hitter.

“We pretty much just switched roles,” Byrnes said.

The highlight of the season for Heintzman and Byrnes was the a 3-0 win over Clarion-Goldfield-Dows in the Class 2A Region 5 semifinals, which gave the Bulldogs a school record 46 wins. Lake Mills finished with a 46-4 overall record.

This season was a special opportunity for Lake Mills to set the record with seven extra matches. Boehmer said what normally would’ve been seven conference duals turned into seven conference dates with three triangulars, a quad at the end of the year was dropped for a six-match tournament and the Bulldogs played six matches in the North Iowa Conference tournament instead of the normal five.

“It’s neat for these girls to say they’ve done something that no other team will probably be able to break again,” he said.

Next year, Lake Mills will have eight fewer regular-season matches. The team will return its top three hitters and diggers.

“This season was a lot of fun, and we’re ready for next year,” Byrnes said.