Bulldogs fall to Spartans in regional finals

Published 3:47 am Thursday, November 6, 2014

A record-setting season ended for the Lake Mills volleyball team one win from the state tournament.

Grundy Center defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 Wednesday in the Class 2A Region 5 finals at Hampton.

“Grundy Center is the best team we’ve played all year,” said Lake Mills coach Jim Boehmer. “Our effort was there. We just weren’t able to compete with their speed.”

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Set scores were 25-12, 25-21 and 25-14.

Kelsea Heintzman continued a solid season at the setter position. She had 24 assists in the match and finished the season with 1,165, which is 231 more than anyone else in Class 2A.

Cede Byrnes led the Bulldogs with six kills. Sydney Larson and Lexi Groe added five each.

Defensively, Emily Orban had a team-high 14 digs, and Byrnes added 13. Madison Shifflett led Lake Mills with two blocks.

The Bulldogs finished the season with a 46-4 record — the most wins in school history. It was the seventh straight year the team qualified for the regional finals. From Sept. 6 to 20, Lake Mills went 18-0.

The Spartans (29-9 overall) will advance to play Sumner-Fredericksburg (30-2 overall) at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Class 2A state quarterfinals at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.