Volleyball Recap: Lutheran Takes Down Ranked Howell

Lutheran faced Howell in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Cougars put the hurt on the Vikings with a sharp 3-0 victory. This was payback for the Cougars, who suffered a 3-1 loss the last time these two teams met.

The 3-0 score doesn't really reflect how close the match was: every set was decided by three points or less. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-23, 27-25, 25-23.

William Raum paced Lutheran's offense, picking up 11 kills. Raum got some help from Charlie Bennett and his 31 assists. Bennett was also solid from the service line: he led the team with four aces.

Despite the loss, Howell still got an impressive performance from Jackson Bradley, who had 21 digs and two assists.

The win made it two in a row for Lutheran and bumps their season record up to 7-4. As for Howell, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 5-5 record this season.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Lutheran will welcome Battle at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. The Cougars are facing the Spartans at the right time seeing as the Spartans are stuck on a six-game losing streak. As for Howell, they will face off against Lafayette at 5:45 p.m. on Monday.