West Lutheran at Southwest Christian
7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 16

The probable conference championship matches just keep coming, this time in the Minnesota Christian Athletic Association (MCAA) between West Lutheran (16-8, 7-1) and Southwest Christian (17-6, 8-0). A victory for the Stars would earn them the outright league title, but a West Lutheran win would create a three-way tie.

New Life Academy (14-12, 8-1) is also in the mix should West Lutheran pull the upset. The Eagles lost in five sets at Southwest Christian last Thursday and have just one match remaining.

Southwest Christian has used a balanced hitting attack and solid defense to remain unbeaten in the conference. Senior outside hitters Brooke Herman and Anna Sperbeck, junior middle Brenna Krommendyk and sophomore middle Mackenzie Close have alternated big attacking efforts and all are capable of leading the No. 7-2A Stars on any given night.

For West Lutheran, Jordan Schuler and Abby Heinrich have shared the setting duties, each recording more than 300 set assists. But it’s been senior Erika Stensland on the receiving end of most of those sets, as she leads the Warriors with 317 kills — the only player in triple digits — and a team-best 252 digs to boot, just ahead of libero Karley Bursch’s 246 digs.