The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team played three really close sets against the Ponies of Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, but they dropped the match by a score of 25-19, 25-19, 25-21 at the Crookston High School Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
FIRST SET
The match started with a back-and-forth first set on Serve for the Cure night, which was raising funds for Heather Bruley, who has two daughters on the volleyball team. Crookston came out aggressively, as Jayde Uttermark and Morgan Boll made their presence felt in the middle, but the opportunities became minimal for the Pirates, as the service game for the Ponies stepped up. Though they only had three aces as a team, all of them from Macey Boe, they were hitting their spots and recording lots of serve-receive errors. This would end up being the catalyst for WAO taking the lead, and a Lola Linder kill would put the first set away, with the Ponies taking it 25-19.
SECOND SET
The second set turned into almost a carbon copy of the first set, with Crookston getting off to a good start again, getting aces from Ally Wagner and Rilynn Aubol. Even though it took a little more time, however, the Ponies worked their way back in front. They shared the wealth on offense throughout the course of the match, with three players having 8 or more kills. The leader of that pack, Kenley Marquis, was on fire in this half, recording 5 kills and a block. With this set playing out so similar to the first, the end result was the same, with WAO taking the second set 25-19 again, taking a 2 sets to none advantage.
THIRD SET
In set three, the Ponies looked to put things away. They got off to a great start, getting kills from Peterson and Hanna Stroble, but the Pirate defense stepped up, and Brynna Kopecky blocked a ball to cut the lead down to 12-9. Abi Bruley then got a kill to cut the lead down to 13-12, but the Ponies were able to hold on to the lead. The Pirates were eventually able to tie the set at 17 before a 3-0 run gave the Ponies a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as they held on to take the final set 25-21, winning the match 3 sets to none.
Crookston drops to 1-19 on the season and will play their final regular season match against Roseau next Tuesday. WAO is now 2-15.
J.V. – Crookston 2-0 C-Squad – Crookston won 2-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Warren-A-O | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Crookston | 19 | 19 | 21 |
For Crookston
Kills – Morgan Boll, Jayde Uttermark 5, Madi Abrams 4
Blocks – Morgan Boll, Jayde Uttermark 2
Digs – Ella Anderson 17
Assists- Rilynn Aubol 12
Aces – Rilynn Aubol, Jayde Uttermark, Ally Wagner 2
For WAO
Kills – Kenley Marquis 10, Markelle Peterson 9, Macey Boe 8
Blocks – Lola LInder 3, Markelle Peterson 2
Digs – Markelle Peterson 21
Assists- Olivia Winge 32
Aces – Macey Boe 3
