<p>After how last year’s season began, the Spartans have to feel infinitely more satisfied with the start of this year’s campaign.</p>
<p>Lincoln East scored a 3-1 home win over Grand Island on Thursday night. With a 1-0 start, the team has immediately hit the road to compete in the Bellevue West Invitational.</p>
<p>Let’s take a quick look at how the Spartans and Islanders kicked off the 2021 season.</p>
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<p><strong>Recap</strong></p>
<p>The visiting Islanders came out swinging right away and built up an early lead off the serving of setter <strong>Claire Kelly</strong>. Lincoln East quickly returned the favor, though, and went on a scoring run with [player_tooltip player_id="112002" first="Brooklyn" last="Fuchs"] behind the line.</p>
<p>Both teams went back and forth throughout the first set with neither side finding any separation. Eventually, a clutch 3-0 scoring run lifted the Spartans to a narrow 25-23 victory in the first set.</p>
[caption id="attachment_154845" align="alignleft" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-154845 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/08/IMG_1419.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Waters takes a swing.[/caption]
<p>This theme of tight scores was carried into the second stanza. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="104983" first="Haedyn" last="Hoos"] provided some huge swings for the Islanders, and fellow 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="109612" first="Megan" last="Waters"] often responded for East. Finally, Grand Island pulled out to a 16-12 lead after a pair of blocks.</p>
<p>Lincoln East would come back through a flurry of aces from [player_tooltip player_id="59195" first="Brynn" last="Carey"]. After taking the lead late in the set, the Spartans pulled away to claim a 2-0 lead.</p>
<p>The Islanders weren’t done, though. Grand Island responded by taking a commanding lead in the third set behind the arm of Hoos. The visitors led throughout and forced a fourth set.</p>
[caption id="attachment_154846" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-154846 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/08/IMG_1417.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Bradford (1) setting up the offense.[/caption]
<p>From there, though, East stepped on the gas. Some excellent choices by setter [player_tooltip player_id="109601" first="Aaliyah" last="Bradford"] set up the Spartans with amazing scoring opportunities late in the match. Lincoln East locked up a 3-1 decision with a big victory in the fourth.</p>
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<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Quick Hitters</strong></span></p>
<p>Here are just a few reactions from this competitive match.</p>
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<p><strong>The Big Hitters</strong></p>
<p>Waters surely has to be the big hitter of the night. This electrifying sophomore produced most of the contest’s floor-denting kills and brought an infectious energy to her side of the net. East’s other pin hitters, like <strong>Kamryn Snyder</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="73869" first="Emma" last="Randall"], also produced some huge swings of their own.</p>
[caption id="attachment_154847" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-154847 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/08/IMG_1434.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Hoos on the attack.[/caption]
<p>Of course, Hoos deserves mention in this section, too. She was nearly unstoppable in the third set and constantly brought a major presence on offense.</p>
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<p><strong>Mayhem in the Middle</strong></p>
<p>It’s easy to get caught up in the pin production from both sides, but don’t lose sight of the talent middles we saw in this matchup.</p>
<p>The Islanders got a lot of their offense from junior <strong>Rylie Huff</strong> at the M1 spot. Huff got a few swings on the left, too, and was a force from behind the service line.</p>
<p>For East, it was a combination of Fuchs and <strong>Kaylee Denker</strong> that helped lock things down along the net. This is a physical lineup that will match up well with other top teams in Class A.</p>
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<p><strong>Trading the Jersey</strong></p>
<p>One of the interesting things to follow throughout the match was the libero flip-flopping between Carey and true freshman Zoe Rademacher. Both got plenty of runs at the libero spot and did an admirable job holding down the backcourt defense.</p>
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<p><strong>Up Next</strong></p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, East is currently competing in the Bellevue West Invite against some top competition in Class A. Grand Island returns home for a district matchup with Norfolk on Tuesday.</p>
