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Emmi Peltola -
Kate Blankenship -
Kelli Miller
The MCC Rebel Volleyball team played their first game of the season this past Thursday night. The Rebels are coming off a 12-14 season a year ago which was their most wins in a season since 2018 but now the Rebels need to take the next step. The Rebels, to do that, will be mixing some very experienced players with some young talent. The Rebels first opponents are one of the favor-ites to win the Section 3A tournament this season and if you are contending for the Section 3A crown you are a favorite for a state title.
The Rebels travelled to Canby to play the Lancers on the road. Canby came out swinging showing off a varied offense with five different players at a time that can get kills. Emily Nelson, Karlie Wollum, Brynn Kockelman, Grace Hansen and Karli Weber all had moments of great play on Thursday night. Wollum’s name stands out for her play over the last couple of seasons, but Nelson and Kockelman have been known as setters. Both showed great hitting ability. The Rebels showed some ability to cover some ground against a good team. The Rebels learned that against good teams you can do many things well and still give up a point. But if you make a mistake, the good teams will punish you over and over.
The Lancers won each set by the same score 25 to 14, 25 to 14, and 25 to 14. The Rebels were led in diggs by Emmi Peltola with 13 and Kate Blankenship adding 8. Suttyn Schryvers led the Rebels with 4 kills while Thea Schneider and Kate Blankenship had 3 each. Peyton DeGreeff led the Rebels with 4 blocks in the game. The Rebels played the 5th ranked team in the state coming into the season and the stats reflected just how good Canby is as a team.
The Rebels will have a week off before returning to action on September 3rd at Cottonwood to play Lakeview and September 5th the Rebels will host Dawson Boyd. The Rebels then get into the heart of the Red Rock Conference schedule September 10th and 12th. For the Rebels to improve on last season they will need to be a 500 team, making each game very important. The Rebels have to show they can be a more consistent passing team to allow the hitters to get good swings. To be a good volleyball team, defense is important but you must be able to score points.
