The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team ran into a very good Roseau Rams side that dominated at the net in a 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-8) win over the Pirates in a non-Section match played at the Crookston High School Gymnasium.
Roseau took a quick lead and never looked back in the first set. A double hit by the Pirates gave Roseau the first point of the match before a cross-court kill by Sophia Helgeson pushed the Rams in front 2-0. Another double-hit by Crookston increased Roseau’s first set lead to 3-0. Crookston got their first point of the match with a Roseau hit into the net, bringing the hosts within 6-1. The Pirates’ first kill came from Mallorie Sundeen trimming Crookston’s deficit down to 6-2 before a Roseau attacking error made it 6-3. Crookston’s three-point run came to a halt with an attacking error giving the Rams a 7-3 lead. Another attacking error by Crookston expanded the visitors’ advantage to 8-3. Mallorie Sundeen delivered a block for another Pirates’ point, cutting the Crookston deficit down to 8-4. A kill by Roseau’s Kayla Santl gave the Rams a 10-6 lead. A tip over the net by Jordyn Bergstrom gave Roseau an 11-7 edge. Kaite Borowicz elevated above the net spiking a kill on the backline to make it 12-7 followed by another emphatic Borowicz spike making it 13-7. The Rams continued to roll with a Kayla Santl kill, increasing the visitors’ advantage to 15-8. The Rams outside hitters continued to put on a show in the first set delivering powerful hit after powerful hit as their lead continued to extend. With Roseau’s lead up to 19-9, Crookston took a timeout to try and regroup. An ace served by Katie Borowicz after the timeout made gave Roseau a 20-9 lead as the Rams continued to simply overpower Crookston’s back row. A cross-court spike by Mariah Huglen made it 23-9 before another Borowicz ace provided set point. A Crookston hit into the net closed out the set as the Rams won the opening set 25-9. “I think it took a while for us to figure out their timing,” said Crookston head coach Ashley Stopa. “They’ve got some big hitters, so their timing is much different than the other people we’ve seen. Our passing was pretty amazing all night. I think we had some really good defense pieces. Once we mixed up the hitting, we did a pretty good job scoring some points in the second set.”
Crookston opened the second set with an ace served by Emma Boll before the Pirates were unable to return a free ball sent by Roseau, tying the match at 1-1. Danielle Boyle spiked a kill giving Crookston the 2-1 lead before a Sophia Helgeson kill tied the set at 2-2. Kasey Cwikla earned a kill with a tip along the sideline gaining a 3-2 lead for the Pirates, but a serving error tied the set at 3-3. An unreturned Roseau serve from Memphis Mertens gave Roseau their first lead of the second set 5-4 before a Borowicz block made it 6-4. Later in the set, another Borowicz kill made it 8-4. A double-hit by the Rams trimmed Crookston’s deficit down to 9-6, but a Helgeson kill regained a 10-6 advantage for Roseau. A Rams’ serving error brought the Pirates back within 11-7 before another ace served by Emma Boll trimmed Crookston’s deficit down to 11-8. A Kasey Cwikla kill brought the Pirates within 12-10 before a block from Allie Love trimmed the Roseau lead down to 12-11. An attacking error from Roseau tied the set at 13-13 before a double hit by Crookston gave the visitors a 14-13 lead. An unreturned Rams serve extended the Roseau advantage to 15-13. Kayla Santl hammered a kill further separating Roseau from Crookston 16-13 before a block from Allie Love cut the Pirates’ deficit down to 17-14. Later in the set, a Crookston attacking error boosted Roseau’s lead to 20-15 before a Mallorie Sundeen kill brought Crookston within 20-16. The Rams responded by winning the next two points taking a 22-16 lead. The visitors continued to pull away the rest of the set, closing out a second frame victory 25-18. “We changed some things up,” added Stopa. “We had some blocking timing that people were watching and then ready to go in and go get. We also changed the line up a little bit, and it seemed to work. Any time we do a massive change, I think most of them are thinking about what they’re supposed to do out there versus all the little technical things. Emily (Funk) mixed up the setting very well to get everyone involved.”
Roseau started the third set much like they started the prior two with a kill giving the Rams a 1-0 lead. A kill from Kayla Santl put Roseau ahead 2-1 before a Pirates’ attacking error made it 3-1. Santl added another kill to make it 4-1. Roseau continued to pull ahead, taking a 6-1 lead before Crookston used a timeout. Rams continued rolling after the timeout expanding their lead to 10-3 before an Emma Boll kill cut the Pirates’ deficit down to 10-4. A Katie Borowicz kill made it 13-4 in favor of Roseau as the continued answering every Crookston point with a multiple point rally. A kill by Mariah Huglen gained Roseau a 16-4 lead. The Rams went on to secure the sweep winning the final set 25-8. “We just had some early trouble on serve receive, and then our passing sort of fell apart,” explained Stopa. “Once the passing falls apart, it’s hard to get the offense going, and when they do get set, they get nervous as to where to head.”
Stopa was hopeful the Pirates could build off the second set against Roseau going into their final match of the regular season on Monday. “We’ve played Roseau a lot in the past four or five years, and that second set was one of the most successful sets we’ve had against them. I feel confident if we can continue to play that consistent, I feel pretty good about our chances going into the postseason.
Crookston falls to 2-19 this season. The Pirates return to the court Monday when they travel to Fisher to take on Climax-Fisher at 7:15 P.M. on KROX. Roseau improves to 16-7.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Roseau | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Crookston | 9 | 18 | 8 |
For Crookston
Kills – Kasey Cwikla – 3, Emma Boll – 2, Mallorie Sundeen – 2, Danielle Boyle – 2
Blocks – Kasey Cwikla – 3, Allie Love – 2, Mallorie Sundeen – 2
Assists – Emily Funk – 8
Digs – Danielle Boyle – 15, Emma Boll – 8, Kasey Cwikla – 6
Aces – Emma Boll – 2
For Roseau
Kills – Kayla Santl – 10, Katie Borowicz – 10, Sophie Helgeson – 5
Blocks – Katie Borowicz – 1
Assists – Mariah Hugle – 18, Memphis Mertens 16
Digs – Katie Borowicz – 12
Aces – Katie Borowicz – 4, Memphis Mertens – 4
