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Lynx have no answer for No. 11 Humboldt

WEBSTER CITY – There were flashes, almost like someone was flicking the light switch on and then off again.

But Webster City needed more than flashes. It needed consistency.

And in the end, that wasn’t there last night.

No. 11-ranked (Class 3A) Humboldt was the more steady team from the first point to the final point, as the Wildcats fended off the Lynx when they grabbed the momentum and traveled home with a 3-0 North Central Conference victory, 25-15, 25-16, 25-11.

Humboldt’s front row terrors Taylor Gidel, Talyn Larsen and Abby Zaugg had their way at times offensively, and they also made it difficult for WCHS (7-14, 1-2 NCC) to get much going when it went on the attack.

“Defensively they’re very sound and you have to give them credit,” WCHS head coach Jess Howard said. “When we did hit the ball hard, they usually got a hand on it. They’re just quick to the ball.

“Offensively, you never know where they’re going to go with the ball. We knew they were going to throw it to their outside and middle more than anyone else, but they kept us on our toes the whole time.”

WCHS slapped 22 kills, but also made 20 errors in 93 chances. The .021 kill efficiency simply wasn’t good enough to hang with the reigning conference champions.

Kenzie Garvey led the way at net for the Lynx with six kills. Olivia Myers and Taylor Schnathorst both cranked four, Gabbi Hoversten and Andi Anderson added three each, and Hannah Williams finished with two.

All four of Myers’ kills came in the second set, which gave WCHS its best shot of getting back into the match. The Lynx pulled to as close as five points during the late stages of the stanza, but three consecutive service errors sapped any momentum they may have had.

“We weren’t allowing ourselves to get on runs because you can’t win a (set) scoring points strictly on side outs,” Howard said. “(The service) errors took a lot of momentum out of our sails in that second (set) when we maybe could have scored more points.”

Humboldt (18-2, 3-0 NCC) received a kill from Emily Hughes to get it to set point and then finished it off on an ace by Larsen.

The Wildcats went on an early 6-0 run to take control of the third set and the spurt eventually reached 14-2. A blast off a block by Gidel put the finishing touches on their victory.

The two teams traded points early on in the opening set, and WCHS briefly led, 9-8, on a laser down the line by Garvey.

Humboldt answered with a 5-0 run and then recorded back-to-back blocks a few points later to take complete control.

Howard walked away with a bit of optimism. Those flashes proved to her that her team can compete, but consistency and confidence are the only things that will get the Lynx over the hump.

“The potential is there to be a very good team, but we’ve got to have that consistency and we’ve got to play strong all the way through,” she said. “It’s just about being confident in their abilities and not shutting down too soon.”

Libero Gianna Gourley led the WCHS defense with 12 digs. Anderson added nine, and Garvey and Schnathorst both collected eight.

Courtney Lampman distributed a team-best 13 assists.

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