A 3-0 victory over Emmetsburg Tuesday night kept Le Mars' winning streak rolling as the Lady Bulldogs cruised to 8-0 overall while winning their first Lakes Conference match.

Despite some power from the E-Hawks' middle hitter, Susan Irwin's squad won three straight games, two by over five points each.

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Game one got the Lady 'Dogs off to a solid start in Emmetsburg with a 25-17 win. The E-Hawks battled hard in game two, but Le Mars maintained its composure en route to the 25-22 victory. Finally in game three, the Lady Bulldogs wrapped things up with a 25-15 win and the 3-0 match victory.

Irwin is pleased with the improvements she sees in her squad from last season. The most successful area she sees in her squad is passing, which is the key, as she relates. "They've done a good job with passing," Irwin said. "The passing helps us to run our offense."

"Our passing and the back row are our biggest improvements from last season," Irwin continued. "And that let's our hitters run the different offenses."

Leading that passing in digs was Emily TeBrink with 12 digs on the night. Libero Cassie Kuiken added seven digs to the passing effort.

Setting up the hits were Amy Lubben and Molly Fischer. Lubben recorded 19 assists while Fischer added 13 as the two share the setter's role for the Lady Bulldogs.

Leading at the net, Kaylee Thompson smacked down 13 kills on the night. Kirstie Ruhland added eight and Lubben continued to add to her diversity with six.

Defensively at the net, Thompson led the squad with six blocks while Lubben had four.

"We only have a couple players that do play all the way around," Irwin said. "Amy [Lubben] and Emily TeBrink are able to keep our offense and defense very solid all the way around. With our libero [Cassie Kuiken] in all the time too, the chemistry is really solid."

Behind the server's line, the Lady Bulldogs were sending aces soaring over the net all night. Ruhland was 10-13 with a team-high four aces while TeBrink was 14-16 with one ace. Kelby Klein was 9-11 on the night with three aces.

After dominating their opening matches on the road, the 8-0 Lady Bulldogs return to Carey Gymnasium Thursday night to play Sioux City East in a non-conference match-up. Irwin said that she and the girls look forward to the matches with 4A schools like East. "It'll be a great competition," Irwin said. "We're looking forward to competing with 4A schools. It lets us know what we can do and what we need to work on for future conference games."

After Thursday's match with East, the Lady Bulldogs will host their invite on Saturday in Le Mars.