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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – Mazie Nagel had a team-high 16 kills and Brooke Peterson had 21 assists to lift the Stratford volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in a Marawood Conference South Division game Tuesday night at Stratford High School.
The Tigers won all three games by identical 25-14 scores to improve to 2-1 in the Marawood South. Assumption is now 1-2.
Stratford scored in bunches in all three games, using streaks of six, nine, and seven straight points in each of the respective games to pull – and stay – ahead.
Makayla Krall had six of her eight kills in the first game and Stratford surged ahead by going on a 10-4 run after Assumption had taken an 8-7 lead.
Nagel, one of four sophomores on the varsity roster, closed out the game with three kills as the Tigers scored the final six points.
Nagel had four kills as Stratford started out Game 2 on a 9-2 run, and added two more to push the Tigers’ lead to 18-4 on the serve of Peterson, another sophomore. Krall’s service ace finished off the 25-14 win.
“We have a core group of girls that are willing to take control of the game, and can take control of the game,” Stratford coach Brooke Krafka said. “It gives us an opportunity to try some different things that maybe we wouldn’t do if we didn’t have that solid core group. It’s nice to see what we can do with different players, and different plays that we have.”
Assumption hung close in the third game. Kara Milkey’s kill brought the Royals to within 10-7 before a sideout for the Tigers. Jadyn Dahlke, yet another sophomore, served six points in a row to help Stratford take command, and two kills late from Nagel finished off the match.
Dahlke added 12 assists, Andie Zuelke had eight kills, and Dahlke and Krall each had four digs for Stratford.
Stratford will play at the Abbotsford Invitational on Saturday before returning to Marawood South play Tuesday at Pittsville.