NH girls battle the Cadets and the flu

New Hampton volleyball senior Emma Nicolaisen isn’t looking past any opponent in the Northeast Iowa Conference race, and that included a Crestwood team New Hampton beat 3-1 Tuesday night.    “We knew they had a few strong girls,” said the Chickasaw, “but every team has their strengths and weaknesses. We have to focus on our strengths.”    The whole idea of focusing may have been tougher than usual as several of the players, including Nicolaisen, were getting over a bout of the flu.    “We had practice yesterday, I tried my best,” Nicolaisen shrugged. “Tonight in the second game I started to feel a little nauseous, but you just try and focus on the game.”    She did that well, hitting a team-high and career-high 15 kills, with 12 digs and an 11-for-12 serving effort.    One of those kills tied the score at five in the opening set. The tightest game of the night, neither team would lead by more than two points until Mya Anderson dumped the ball to an open spot to put the Chickasaws up by three, then did it again a short time later for a 19-14 New Hampton lead. A Savannah Anderson back row kill and two kills by Ellie Ewert ended the game as the Chickasaws won 25-20.For the full story, please see the Sept. 9 Tribune.