North Star’s Koll can’t hold back in sweep of Northeast

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BY RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

Because of a rotator cuff injury, Brandy Koll was supposed to limit the speed of her arm swing to 70 percent.

She tried, but the Lincoln North Star junior outside hitter couldn’t contain herself. In her first net action since Sept. 9, Koll recorded a match-high 16 kills to help the Navigators post a 25-16, 25-11, 25-17 home volleyball victory over Lincoln Northeast on Tuesday night.

“No, that didn’t work out so well,” Koll said, laughing when asked if she kept her swings at 70 percent or lower. “When you’re in the air in the heat of a match, you just can’t help yourself. It feels really good, so I don’t think I hurt it.’’

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The 5-foot-8 Koll has been a libero since her injury, and was just cleared to begin hitting in practice late last week. With Koll out, North Star’s other offensive weapons have had to pick up their production. All of the Gators were hitting on all cylinders against the Rockets as they put together what North Star coach Kristi Nelson-Hitz called her team’s best performance of the season.

Senior middle blocker Michelle Roth had 11 kills, and sophomores Kimberly Bailey and Amy Jorgensen both put down eight. Bailey also had 21 assists in North Star’s 6-2 attack, while another sophomore, Aly Wurster, had 17 assists.

North Star (9-12) more than doubled Northeast’s kill total (45-22) and also served 11 aces to keep the Rockets out of system most of the night. Bailey and Jorgensen both served three aces.

“We’re back to where we started when we had everyone in their right positions,’’ Nelson-Hitz said. “I had to be real creative with our outside hitters when Brandy was out. It put pressure on the other kids to step up (offensively), and it made Brandy’s defense better at the same time.”

The Rockets (6-16) were paced by junior Ashley Bartek’s eight kills and two ace blocks. In her first playing time in a month because of a shoulder injury, junior Lindsay Coupens registered five kills and an ace block. Junior outside hitter Morgan Young added four kills and two ace serves.

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.