The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team played well at times, but East Grand Forks used at least one big run in each set to win the match 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-16) in a Section 8AA matchup played in East Grand Forks.
SET ONE –
The set was tied at 1-1 before East Grand Forks went on a 5-0 run with three kills, an ace, and a Pirate attack error. East Grand Forks led 19-14 before they ended the set on a 6-0 run behind three kills, an ace, and two Pirate attack errors and the Green Wave won 25-14 victory. “It would have been fun to see how we would have done if we wouldn’t have given up the runs,” said Pirate Coach Katie Englestad. “It wasn’t the way we wanted to end the set, that is for sure.”
SET TWO –
Crookston took a 1-0 lead after a Rylee Solheim kill. The teams battled back-and-forth for a while with ties at 1, 2, 3, and 4. Crookston went on their best run of the match when Bailey Cameron served an ace, Solheim added two kills, Mallory Sundeen added two kills as part of a 6-1 run for a 10-5 lead. “I was impressed with how Bailey Cameron stepped up her game tonight,” said Coach Engelstad. “She played well, her passes were on and when we went on runs, it was during her serves.” East Grand Forks slowly whittled away at the Pirates lead and tied the set at 13 after three straight Kendra Emery kills. East Grand Forks ended the set on a 12-8 run to win the set 25-21 to take a 2-0 match lead. “Emery is a very good player and she gave us a lot of problems tonight,” said Coach Englestad.
SET THREE –
The teams were tied at 2, 3, and Crookston led 4-3 when East Grand Forks went on a 9-0 run to build a 12-4 lead. Kendra Emery had three aces and one kill in the stretch to lead the Green Wave. The teams would play even the rest of the way, but Crookston couldn’t find a run of any kind to cut the deficit any closer than five points. EGF led 20-15 when Ava Pena had two kills and Briana Anderson added a kill in the run for a 23-15 lead. Mallorie Sundeen stopped the run with a kill and the Pirates added another point to get within a 24-16 deficit, but the Pirates hit an attack into the net and East Grand Forks won 25-16 to win the match 3-0. “I saw a lot of good things from our girls and they fought for the points and that was good to see from the team,” said Coach Englestad. “I was happy with how the girls responded after being down early and they tried to fight back, but it was a little too late in the match.”
Crookston drops to 4-12 on the year. East Grand Forks improves to 7-15 on the year.
J.V. – EGF won 2-0 C-Squad won 2-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| CROOKSTON | 14 | 21 | 16 |
| East Grand Forks | 25 | 25 | 25 |
For CROOKSTON
Kills – Rylee Solheim – 5, Mallorie Sundeen – 2, Ally Perreault – 2
Blocks – Ally Perreault – 2, Mallorie Sundeen – 2, Libby Salentine -2
Digs – Breanna Kressin – 22, Bailey Cameron – 3
Assists – Anna Funk – 12, Libby Salentine – 6
Aces –Bailey Cameron – 3
