The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team took the match to the fourth set for the second straight night but it just wasn’t enough as the Mahnomen/Waubun Thunderbirds defeated the Pirates in 4 sets, by a score of 25-14, 25-12, 20-25, 25-10 at the Crookston High School Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
FIRST SET
Mahnomen/Waubun got off to a great start, scoring the first six points before a quick Pirate timeout. The Pirates began their response, going on a 4-0 run to cut the lead down to 9-6, but then the Thunderbirds went on a roll with the help of Kinley Syverson, who delivered 4 kills in a 9-point stretch that put the Thunderbirds up 18-8. Crookston’s net play started to step up, resulting in kills from Jayde Uttermark and Ally Wagner, but the offense would not stop for the Thunderbirds, and they pulled away to take the first set by a score of 25-14.
SECOND SET
The second set started a lot closer between the two squads. The Thunderbirds got off to a 5-1 lead to start the set, as Syverson started delivering, but then she was moved to the back row, and the Pirates started to capitalize on some errors. The front line of Jayde Uttermark and Abi Bruley started to make plays, and an Uttermark kill cut the Thunderbird lead to 12-10. However, after that, the Thunderbirds took off, as they capitalized on balls out of bounds and errant serve-recieves to surge to a 13-2 run, ending the set with a 25-12 win, and a two sets to none advantage.
THIRD SET
In the third set, both teams went back and forth once again to start. The Thunderbirds, after scoring first, quickly went down 5-2 as they started making some more errors. The Pirates maintained the lead until a Nane Patoia kill tied the set at 13. The Pirates then went on their best run of the game, as an Abi Bruley block sparked a 6-0 run, putting the Pirates up 19-13. After a timeout, the Thunderbirds then scored 4 in a row to cut the lead down to 19-17. However, the Pirates were successfully able to thwart a comeback, and an Uttermark kill put the third set away 25-20, extending things to a 4th set.
FOURTH SET
Mahnomen/Waubun seemed to be very fed up with the third set defeat, and turned things up a notch in the fourth set. After Crookston scored first, the Thunderbirds scored 5 in a row to make it 5-1, and they never looked back. Kills from Cora McArthur and Isabella Schlick sparked a massive run, and the Thunderbirds blew the fourth set wide open, taking an 18-5 lead. Both teams exchanged points from there, and that was more than enough for the Thunderbirds, as they held on to a 25-10 set win, and won the match 3 sets to 1.
Crookston falls to 0-2 on the season. Mahnomen/Waubun is now 1-0.
C Squad – CROX win 2-0 (25-12, 25-7) JV – M/W win 2-0 (25-14, 25-18)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Mahnomen/Waubun | 25 | 25 | 20 | 25 |
| Crookston | 14 | 12 | 25 | 10 |
For Crookston
Kills – Jayde Uttermark, Ella Anderson 5
Blocks – Jayde Uttermark 3
Digs – Ella Anderson 13, Ally Wagner 9, Brynna Kopecky 7
Assists- Rilynn Aubol 16
Aces – Jayde Uttermark, Rilynn Aubol 2
