There was a whole lot going on Thursday, Oct. 3, when Lisbon volleyball hosted Prince of Peace.
Senior night, Pink out (for breast cancer), youth camper night, and the pep band even showed up.
“That was something we hadn’t done before,” Lisbon coach Lance Kamaus said. “The kids couldn’t hear me during time outs … because we have a really good pep band.”
And, there was some volleyball, too. Lisbon won 25-14, 25-11, 25-13. “I think all that extra stuff gave us a lot of adren- aline and energy,” senior setter Kaitlynn Hasselbusch said. “We try to play every game as seriously as possible, no matter who the team is.”
Hasselbusch recorded the 1,500th assist of her career on her final assist of the night. Before the match, junior Mykala Luzum- Selmon was honored for her 500th kill and 100th ace serve.
Lisbon got off to a 9-0 lead in the first set behind three ace serves from Hasselbusch and some elite net play by senior middle blocker Sarah Dietsch.
The match wasn’t a total rout. Kamaus did call one time out to straighten out his team.
“Kamaus always pushes us to be the best we can be,”cHasselbusch said. “That’scwhat you should expect.”
The Lions got out to ace 9-2 lead in the second set,cand a 13-2 lead in the third set. Prince of Peace (1-16) has some talented hitters, but struggles to get them in position to attack.
Hasselbusch had 23 assists and Luzum-Selmon led with 10 kills. Dietsch added eight kills and Kam ryn Kahl had six.
Lisbon finished the match with 22 aces, led by Presley Studt with six. Studt, a senior, has been sharing the libero role with freshman Kyla Kahl. The two had to do a quick-change between sets. Typically, because the libero wears a different colored uniform, teams stick with one libero for a full match.
“We’re going to have to make that decision sooner or later,” Kamaus said. “They each bring something to the table.”
It was a special match for Studt in several ways. She transferred to Lisbon last season after missing her junior season at North Cedar following knee surgery.
She also has an aunt who survived breast cancer and was proud to wear the unique pink uniform.
“This game is really important to me because of my aunt,” Studt said.
Two days earlier, Lisbon won at Bellevue Marquette, 25-11, 25-14, 25-11. It was a triumph for Kam aus because of how the Lions handled the other team’s serving. The Lions were positively rotten – “worst in recent memory” Kamaus said — at serve receiving in a loss to Mid-Prairie back on Sept. 28. So last week Lisbon went through “passing boot camp,” Kamaus said.
Against Marquette, the Lions were 33 of 34 in serve receiving. That means only once were they unable to set up an attack.
Offensively Lisbon hit .301 as a team. Luzum Selmon had 15 kills, Kamryn Kahl had 10 and Dietsch eight. They also had 14 aces a team, with four each for Hasselbusch and Luzum-Selmon.
The Lions (22-7) finished a busy week with four wins Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Northeast Invitational in Goose Lake.
Lisbon beat Bellevue Marquette (21-13, 21-14), Maquoketa (21-15, 18-21, 15-9), Calamus-Wheatland (21-19, 21-17) and Northeast (21-17, 21-16).
The Lions wrap up Tri-Rivers play with trip to North Cedar on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and to Easton Valley on Thursday, Oct. 10.