HUMBOLDT 5, CENTRAL 2

#3 Humboldt hosted #9 Central in a make up match from Monday and the Hawks prevailed after a three day delay 5-2 sweeping the singles and adding the third doubles. (The reason for the delay was transportation issues—no bus on Monday). The Hawks had convincing wins at singles with five of the sets holding the Minutemen to single digits. Doubles proved to be more competitive with the only three set match of the day. Also three doubles sets were decided by three points, two went to extra points. The third set in first doubles went to 25 and that proved to be the difference in #4 ranked Julia Bowron & Emma Clift’s win over Paw T and Tree.

The virus has seen declining numbers for every team out there this year. Some teams cannot fill a varsity ten person lineup. The St. Paul conference has fared better than most. But it has set back the pipeline. Humboldt has eight seniors that have been performing across the years and that experience has been invaluable this year. Central has had to throw players into the competitive fire with the missing 2020 season part of the landscape for every team. The extra seasoning would have been beneficial for everyone.

SINGLES
1. Lay Lay, H def Zadie Heitzeg 21-16, 21-13
2. Htoo Say, H def Lucy Friedl 21-11, 21-8
3. Let Let, H def Kira Braun 21-4, 21-5
4. Naw, H def Mayson Yelk 21-3, 21-9

DOUBLES
1. Julia Bowron / Emma Clift, C def Paw T / Tree 19-21, 21-17, 25-23
2. Jennifer Zou / Tina Son, C def Blue Moo / Julia 22-20, 21-11
3. Kler Shee / Yunee, H def Serenity Soulisak / Ruth Zaw 21-14, 21-15

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Humboldt 4-0 1.000
Games: Humboldt 8-0 1.000
points: Humboldt 168-69 .709
Set 1 points: 84-34 .712
Set 2 points: 84-35 .706
decided by 10+: Humboldt 6-0 1.000
decided by 3-: none
margin: Humboldt 12.375
DOUBLES
Matches: Central 2-1 .667
Games: Central 4-3 .571
points:  Central 137-134 .506
Set 1 points: Humboldt 62-55
Set 2 points: Central 57-49 .530
Set 3 points: Central 25-23 .538
decided by 10+: Central 1-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Central 2-1 .667
margin: Central 0.429

FIRST SINGLES

Lay LAY 2, Zadie HEITZEG  0
(23-16, 21-13)

#4 ranked Lay Lay of Humboldt stopped Central’s Zadie Heitzeg in two sets. If you notice the first set, the players must of lost count of the score as they had 21-16. I did not notice any replay issues in that set. Lay Lay & Heitzeg did have plenty of longer rallies, but it was the veteran Lay Lay that moved Heitzeg more and that helped secure the victory. A paltry 14 points were decided in two points or less with Lay Lay holding that advantage. The longest stroke rally went to Heitzeg with a 14 stroke soft drive to open the second set. There were seven rallies that lasted 10 strokes or longer (.137), 32 that last five or more (.438) compared to only 14 (.192) for two strokes or less. Lay Lay doubled up Heitzeg in winners (23/11) with drops and smashes accounting for seven points each. Lay Lay had double digit wide errors as she tried to paint the sideline.

Lay Lay jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set. Heitzeg got right back into the match at 10-9, but it was through Lay Lay’s hitting errors. There were no winners in that bunch. Lay Lay responded with a run of four and that kept Heitzeg at bay. I am not sure where the players went off the rail on the score, but with the masks covering up voices it and longer rallies, it is probably easy to lose track.

Heitzeg led 4-1 to start the second set and all those points came on winners, two soft drives sandwiched around two clears. Lay Lay tied it right up with her first run of three in that set started off with a punch drive of 12 strokes. Lay Lay then held Heitzeg scoreless for five straight serves. Still the set was tight at 13-12. Fatigue could have been a factor as Lay Lay strung together seven straight points to stand at the doorstep 20-12. The match ended on a missed serve.

Category	LAY LAY	HEITZEG
Side out	14/20-.700	9/19-.474
Longest side out string	5	2 (3x)
3+ Runs	7	3
Longest point string	7	4
Biggest lead	8	3
Lead changes	1	0
SERVING
Service points	24	10
Serving %	41/42-.976	26/30-.867
POINTS
Overall points	44	29
Points after 11	22	11
Points after own errors	13	8
STROKES
Strokes	225	149
Strokes per point	5.114	5.138
5+ rallies	19	13
2- rallies	10	4
WINNERS	23	10
Aces	0	0
Blocks	0	0
Clears	3	4
Drives	6	1
Drops	7	0
Soft drives	0	2
Smashes	7	3
ERRORS	19	21
Deep	3	4
Net	4	4
Wide	11	9
Serve	1	4
W:E Ratio	1.211	0.476
Margin	7.50
Set Point %	2/5-.400
Time	19:58