The Fertile-Beltrami Falcon Volleyball team used a well-rounded offensive attack and some solid defense to beat the Red Lake County Central Mustangs 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) in a Section 8A matchup at the Fertile-Beltrami School gymnasium.
FIRST SET
The match started with ties at 1 and 2 before Fertile-Beltrami went on a 6-1 run with two kills and an ace from Madison Stueness, a Tessa Opdahl kill, a Miley Fladhammer kill, and an RLCC error for an 8-3 lead. Red Lake County Central battled back and went on a 4-1 run to get within a 9-7 deficit. Fertile-Beltrami’s Reece Bruggeman had a kill before Mya Erickson took over with three straight kills for a 13-7 lead. RLCC slowly chipped away at the deficit and got within a 17-14 deficit. Fertile-Beltrami’s Tessa Opdahl had a big kill, and after an RLCC kill, Miley Fladhammer had a kill, and Stueness had two aces for a 21-15 lead. RLCC battled back to get within a 23-20 deficit before the Falcons ended the set with kills from Erickson and Gorder for a 25-20 victory.
SECOND SET
The set started with ties at 2, 4, and 6 before RLCC went on a 9-2 run to take a 15-8 lead. RLCC expanded the lead to 18-10, which was the biggest lead of the set. Fertile-Beltrami picked up their play as they ended the set on a 15-3 run. The run started with a Mustang serve into the net before Erickson and Gorder had kills. After two RLCC attacks went out of bounds, Stueness had three kills, and Erickson added another to get within a 19-18 deficit. After a Mustang point, RLCC hit out of bounds, and Stueness had a kill to tie the set at 20-20. Stueness and Erickson followed with kills for a 22-20 lead. After a Mustang point, Fertile-Beltrami’s Opdahl had a kill and after a Mustang attack went out of bounds, Stueness won the set with a big-time kill for a 25-21 victory to take a 2-0 lead.
THIRD SET
RLCC took a 4-1 lead to start the set before Fertile-Beltrami responded with five straight points. It began with a Stueness kill, and after the Mustangs hit out of bounds, Iverson served up three aces for a 6-4 lead. The teams were tied again at 6, 7, and 9 before Fertile-Beltrami’s Fladhammer had a kill and the Mustangs had back-to-back errors to give the Falcons a 12-9 lead. Fertile-Beltrami led 16-14 when Opdahl had a kill, Iverson served up an ace, RLCC hit into the net and the Falcons led 19-14. RLCC battled back to get within a 21-19 deficit before the Falcons’ Bruggeman had a kill for a 22-19 lead. After an RLCC kill, Gorder followed with a kill for a 23-20 lead. After a Mustang kill, Bruggman finished the match with a kill and a service ace for a 25-21 victory to win 3-0.
Fertile-Beltrami improves to 20-6 on the year and will wrap up the regular season at Fosston on Tuesday. RLCC ends the regular season with a 9-16 on the year.
J.V. – Fertile-Beltrami won 2-0
Click below to listen to Fertile-Beltrami Coach Kerri Solie’s comments
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Red Lake County Central | 20 | 21 | 21 |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 25 | 25 | 25 |
For Fertile-Beltrami
Kills – Madison Stueness – 16, Mya Erickson – 10, Reese Bruggeman -7
Blocks – Mya Erickson – 3, Bailey Iverson – 1, Tessa Opdahl – 1
Digs – Bailey Iverson – 12, Reese Bruggeman 10, Madison Stueness -10
Assists- Bailey Iverson – 21, Tori Gorder – 14
Aces – Bailey Iverson – 4, Mya Erickson -2, Madison Stueness – 2
