EBF Volleyball Falls in Straight Sets to Knoxville in SCC Match

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont battled through three competitive sets Tuesday night but came up short against Knoxville, falling 20-25, 19-25, 22-25 in South Central Conference play.

The Rockets stayed within reach throughout the match, challenging Knoxville in every set. Lacey Taylor led the attack with 13 kills on 31-of-35 hitting, while also adding eight digs and four service aces. Kinley Lobberecht added 10 kills on 21-of-30 hitting and recorded two blocks, seven digs, and two aces.

Setter Andrea Genskow distributed 21 assists and finished a perfect 7-for-7 at the service line with one ace. Defensively, Lindsay Akers contributed three blocks, and Kinzey Lobberecht added six digs. Other contributions came from Layni Burch with five digs and one ace, Lanie Batterson with one kill and one assist, Gracie Long with two digs, and Morgan Rea with three successful serves.

Head coach reflected on the match, noting how close the team came to taking control but how errors proved costly. “Such a close SCC match with Knoxville. We were in the match the entire time, but errors mentally and physically cost us points at crucial times in the match,” the coach said.

Despite the setbacks, there were positives to build on. “We were able to string together great moments to capture the momentum and at times we controlled the pass well, but again we gave up too many points for missed serves in the net,” the coach explained.

Looking ahead, the team is focused on progress and competing in tough environments. “It’s still early in the season and we will continue to work on getting better by cutting down the errors and making better decisions. We will play at SEP on Saturday. This tournament is packed with great teams, but we will compete and improve along with cutting down on service errors,” the coach added.