Newark topples Lady Lions for regional title

The mighty Norseman breezed to the Earlville Class 1A Regional championship, defeating the Lady Lions 25-10, 25-10. May said her team definitely encountered some jitters playing in the atmosphere of a regional championship for the first time, especially against a program like Newark’s which has become well accustomed to that setting.

“I told our girls it takes teams getting to a big game like and maybe losing big or coming home with a big win in order to advance our program. The girls have never been in a situation like this before,” May said. “The future is bright for us. The sophomore team got third in the Little Ten Tournament, so we’re headed in the right direction.”

It was the Lady Norsemen (29-4-1) who had all facets of their game going in the right direction Thursday. They used strong hitting at the net and serving to dominant the Lady Lions.

Senior setter Lauren Tollefson had a 12-point string to stretch the Norseman’s lead to 19-2 in the first set. Kaitlyn Hughes helped pull the Lady Lions back within 21-10 with a couple of kills and a block in a stretch that saw L/O outscore Newark 7-1.

However, Kristina Nichols served out the set with four points and two aces.

Newark didn’t let up in the second set, with Nichols serving up seven straight after a sideout for an 8-0 lead. Tollefson had a five-point string with an ace to make it 14-1.

“They played flawless,” May said. “They’ve got great serving. When you’re not able to get a good pass, your offense is slim pickings after that.”

Newark coach Tonya Nagel said her team’s serving, led by Tollefson (17 points, 2 aces) and Nichols (11 points, 3 aces), set the tone early.

“Our serving was so impressive. When you’re able to move the serves around the floor, you can get into a team’s head quickly,” she said.