Martin Luther Raises $250 for MACC Fund at Home Conference Match
At their home conference match last week, Martin Luther played to raise money to help cure childhood cancer. They sold shirts and had a raffle to fundraise for the MACC Fund. It was an electric atmosphere in the gym with some great volleyball for an even better cause.
This is an organization near to varsity coach, Haley Naber’s, heart as her younger brother is a survivor of childhood cancer. He will be 19 years cancer free this spring. Both Haley and her brother, Kyle, are alumni of Martin Luther and still very active in the Spartan community.
As the players took the court there was a great energy and the stands were full! There was blue everywhere, the color representing childhood cancer awareness. The Lady Spartans were able to raise $250 to donate to the MACC Fund.
The match was tough, a five-set battle against Dominican in front of a huge crowd. Though the Lady Spartans came up short, they played with passion and grit for every single point. They lost the first game by two points but came back fighting winning the next two 25-10 and 25-17 respectfully. Dominican did not give up easily though and won the fourth set.
The fifth set was point for point with a final score of 17-15 in favor of Dominican. It was an amazing match with big digs and even bigger kills. Both teams played competitive volleyball the entire night.
The kill leader for Martin Luther was junior Syndey Burris who had a whopping 14 kills. Senior Cassy Barry contributed 9 kills, 23 service receptions, and 25 digs. She was a six-rotation outside for the Spartans that night and her consistency helped them throughout the set. Senior libero Ella Wolski led the back row throughout the match and contributed 17 digs and 12 service receptions. Junior setter Emma Spaciel had 23 assists and 15 digs. Emma is a great leader on the court who has a lot of spirit and is a great competitor.
Dominican had their share of kills and digs as well with sophomore Kate Poellmann leading the Knights with 16 kills and 13 digs. Junior Kallie Theiler led the team in the backcourt with 29 digs and 24 service receptions. She provided awesome consistency and only had 3 service reception errors throughout the match. Junior setter Olivia Mlada ran a 5-1 offense and had 29 assists during the thrilling five-set match.
Dominican and Martin Luther were extremely evenly matched with the win going either way at any point throughout the night. This great show of competition and sportsmanship along with the money raised for the MACC Fund shows just how much of a positive impact the athletes and this sport can have on the community.