The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team led by 10 in the second set, but the Thief River Falls Prowlers came back to win the set and coasted in the third set for a 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-8) victory in a Section 8AA match-up played in the sweltering Crookston High School gymnasium.
In the first set, Thief River Falls took a 4-0 lead with three kills and an ace, but Crookston battled back to tie the set at 5-5 with a Rylee Solheim ace and four Prowler errors. “We weren’t ready for what they were going to bring. They did a good job of finding the open spot,” said Pirate Coach Ashley Stopa. “The girls did a good job of changing some things and we were able to tie it up.” The teams were tied at seven and eight before Thief River Falls built a 14-9 lead with a couple of kills and some Pirate attack errors. Thief River Falls continued to pull away for a 25-15 first set victory for a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second match was an exciting one as the teams were tied at 1, 2 and 3. Crookston led 6-4 when they went on a 4-0 run behind a Katelynn Genereux kill, and three straight Hailey Seaver kills for a 10-4 lead. Crookston led 11-7 when they went on another run, this time a 6-0 run while taking advantage of a Seaver kill and five Thief River Falls errors for a 17-7 lead and things were looking good for the Pirates. Crookston led 22-16 before Thief River Falls’ Madison Kisch took over the match. Kisch had two big-time kills to spark a Prowler comeback. Crookston led 24-19 when they hit out of bounds twice and Thief River Falls’ Kylee Hoffard followed with two kills and Rebecca Leier added another kill to tie the set at 24. Crookston hit into the net and the set ended with the Prowlers’ Coral Mattison getting a big kill for a 26-24 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match. “I thought we were going to win set two with our start,” said Coach Stopa. “We had the lull and we can’t do that against any team we play and Thief River Falls wasn’t scared of making mistakes and got after it.”
The third set was all Thief River Falls as Crookston looked mentally and physically wore down after a tough second set loss. The set was tied at 3-3 before the Prowlers went on a 10-1 run and they cruised the rest of the way for a 25-8 victory to win the match 3-0. “I think we were done after set two. I could see it in their eyes and we have to figure out what causes us to break down like that. We had a lot of mistakes,” said Coach Stopa. “We need to work on the individual and team mental toughness and we need to be ready to go. We are looking forward to three practices the rest of the week to get ready for the trip to Roseau.”
Crookston drops to 2-5 on the year and will travel to Roseau on Monday. Thief River Falls improves to 2-4 on the year.
J.V. – Thief River Falls won 2-0 C Squad – Thief River Falls won 2-0
Rachel Hefta with an attack as two Prowlers look for the block
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Thief River Falls | 25 | 26 | 25 |
| CROOKSTON | 15 | 24 | 8 |
Hailey Seaver with a dig and Emma Boll on a dig on the serve receive
For Crookston
Kills – Hailey Seaver- 8, Rachel Hefta- 7
Blocks – Sydney Anderson- 2
Assists – Kylie Solheim- 13
Digs – Hailey Seaver- 8, Danielle Boyle – 8, Rachel Hefta- 6
Aces – Rylee Solheim – 1
