Woodbury volleyball: Royals improve win streak to seven straight games

The Woodbury volleyball team opened Suburban East Conference play with a pair of victories and ran its win streak to seven straight last week.

Woodbury (7-2; 2-0 SEC) beat intra-district rival Park and SEC foe Hastings, each by a 3-0 score, to kick off conference play.

Woodbury beat Park 25-14, 25-16, 25-13 in its first conference match of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at Woodbury High School then took down Hastings 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 in Hastings on Thursday, Sept. 15.

In the win over Hastings (5-5; 0-2 SEC) Woodbury senior outside hitter Olivia Wangensteen and junior outside hitter Sara Biermaier led the Royals’ attack with 12 kills apiece, while junior Abyssinia Andualem-Emiru had six kills and tied for the team lead in set assists with 14, along with junior setter Kelsey Schultze. Defensively, senior Ericka Johnson had a team-high 14 digs, followed by Biermaier with six, and senior setter Chloe Richter had four aces, followed by Wangensteen with two aces.

“Consistent play and improvements on defensive play led to win,” Woodbury assistant coach Johnna Wangensteen said. “The girls are getting stronger and more confident with every match.”

In the win over Park (0-8; 0-2 SEC), Biermaier had a team-best eight kills, followed by Andualem-Emiru with five and Olivia Wangensteen with four, Schultze had a team-high eight set assists and Biermaier and Wangensteen each had three service aces.

Woodbury took on Roseville on Tuesday, Sept. 20, after the Bulletin went to print. Next, the Royals host White Bear Lake on Thursday, Sept. 22, at Woodbury High School.

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