‘Proud second’ for Chickasaws

It took the second-ranked Sumner-Fredericksburg volleyball team to knock the Chickasaws off their winning track Saturday. In the annual New Hampton Invitational, New Hampton finished second to the Class 2A Cougars.This was the best finish coach Jess Geerts could recall in her tenure at New Hampton, and that goes back quite a few years.“I couldn't be more proud of this team,” said Geerts. “We played well together and had a very supportive and loud bench. This was 100 percent a team effort, the girls really stepped up when we needed it.”    Sumner-Fredericksburg was 31-4 a year ago, second at the 2A state tourney and are off to a 7-0 start this year. But before the Chickasaws reached the highly-regarded Cougars, they first polished off two opponents in pool play, starting with St. Ansgar.It was a quick start as the Chickasaws won 2-0 over the Saints, 21-13, 21-17. Emma Nicolaisen's seven kills led the offense, she started out with what would be the best kill efficiency of the day at .545, only making one error on 11 attacks. Lauren Frerichs provided six assists and two aces on a 13-for-14 serving effort.The domination by the Chickasaws kept rolling in game one against South Winn with a 21-9 win. “Then that low that we sometimes have hit us,” explained Geerts. “I think we settled a little too much, even though we knew South Winn needed game one to warm up, after watching them play tight with Sumner-Fred in game two.”For the full story, please see the Sept. 6 Tribune.