The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team was able to snap a 28-game losing streak dating back to 2023 by beating the NCE/UH Titans in five sets (25-21, 9-25, 15-25, 25-16, 15-10) at the Crookston High School Gymnasium on Thursday night.
FIRST SET
The first set was a roller coaster for both sides, filled with runs aplenty. Crookston scored 4 of the first 5 points, led by a Jayde Uttermark kill, but the Titans surged after a timeout, going on an 11-2 run to take a 12-6 lead. The Pirates, however, had an answer, and with the help of two kills and an ace by Brynna Kopecky, the Pirates surged ahead on a 9-2 run to take a 15-14 lead. Then, the roller coaster went the other direction, as NCE/UH took a 19-16 lead, before the Pirates came back to tie the set at 20. Then, the Pirates got the better of the Titans, ending the set on a 5-1 run, capping it off with a Kopecky kill to take the first set 25-21, and taking their first set lead of the season.
SECOND SET
The second set proved to be radically different than the first set. The Titans stormed ahead to a 5-0 lead, before the Pirates scored a point. They played back and forth until it was a 9-3 score, before the Titans surged for their best performance of the match, going on a 9-0 run to take an 18-3 lead. This quickly put an end for the Pirates in set 2. They did get kills from Madi Abrams and a block from Abi Bruley, but the Titans took the second set 25-9 to tie the match at 1.
THIRD SET
As the third set got underway, the Pirates started to play a little better, but for every point the Pirates would score, the Titans would respond with 2 or 3. They got a lot of help from outside hitters Olivia Thies and Bella Madson, and were able to pull away to a 12-6 advantage. Crookston was able to play even for most of the set from there, as Jayde Uttermark stepped up, adding 4 of her 15 kills in this set, but the offense became too much, and the Titans took the 3rd set 25-15, taking a 2 sets to 1 advantage.
FOURTH SET
The fourth set looked to be going the same way, with NCE/UH scoring first for the fourth consecutive set, sparking an 8-3 run to pull ahead. But, when the Pirates looked defeated, they stormed ahead. Out of a timeout, the Pirates scored 5 in a row to tie the match at 8. From there, both teams would go back and forth in points all the way until it became 17-16 Pirates, after a Titan point. That’s when the Pirates found a level they haven’t played at throughout the entire match. Brynna Kopecky and Abi Bruley led the way as the Pirates scored the final 8 points of the set, taking the set 25-16 and tying the match at 2, forcing their first five-set match since September 20th of 2021.
FIFTH SET
The Pirates used all their momentum from the end of the fourth set in the fifth set, and they did not trail in the final set. They opened up a 2-0 lead, an Ella Anderson kill made it 4-1, and even when the Titans tied it up at 4, and cut the lead down to 8-7 a little bit later, the Pirates were just too much. Jayde Uttermark’s 15th kill of the night set up match point, and the Pirates were able to put it away for a 15-10 win, and a 3-2 victory.
Crookston improves to 1-6 on the year, while NCE/UH drops to 1-7.
C Squad – Crookston won 2-0 (25-14, 25-14) JV – Crookston won 2-1 (25-16, 24-26, 15-8)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| NCE/UH | 21 | 25 | 25 | 16 | 10 |
| Crookston | 25 | 9 | 15 | 25 | 15 |
For Crookston
Kills – Jayde Uttermark 15, Brynna Kopecky 6
Blocks – Abi Bruley 1
Digs – Brynna Kopecky 27, Lana Peterson 14, Ella Anderson 13
Assists- Rilynn Aubol 21
Aces –Brynna Kopecky 3, Abi Bruley 2
