The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team celebrated senior night with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-8) victory over the short-handed Red Lake County Central Mustangs in a match played at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
SET ONE –
The match started with a back-and-forth battle with ties at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Crookston blew the set open when Ally Perreault had back-to-back kills to spark an 11-2 run for an 18-9 lead. Libby Salentine, Rylee Solheim also added kills in the run. “That got us going and with all the homecoming week things going on I was a little nervous,” said Pirate Coach Katie Englestad. “We started a little differently with senior night Crookston continued to pull away and led 23-15 when Bailey Cameron had back-to-back aces to give the Pirates a 25-15 victory in the first set. “That was a good way to finish strong and Bailey had some nice serves,” said Coach Englestad. “That was a good way to start, that is for sure.”
SET TWO –
Crookston jumped out to a 2-0 lead in set two behind a Perreault kill and a Red Lake County Central error. The Mustangs answered with three straight points to take a 3-2 lead after a service ace. Crookston trailed 8-6 when Mallorie Sundeen had a block for a kill and Solheim followed with a kill to tie the set at 8-8. The teams were tied at nine before Solheim, Salentine, and Perreault had three straight kills for a 12-9 lead. “That was big to get us going again,” said Coach Englestad. “Those three played well and gave us another nice spark.” Crookston continued to slowly pull away with kills from Hannah Loraas, Perreault, Sundeen, and several RLCC hitting errors for a 24-14 lead. Sundeen ended the set with a kill for a 25-14 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match. “It was nice to take a 2-0 lead and to do it the way we did,” said Coach Englestad. “We finished strong again and that was good to see.”
SET THREE –
Crookston came out strong in the third set with a 13-2 run behind three kills and an ace from Perreault, Sundeen added two kills, and Loraas and Salentine added kills, mixed with RLCC errors and the Pirates were off to a commanding lead. “It was fun to see everybody chipping in for us in that run,” said Coach Englestad. RLCC scored on a Pirate service error, but Crookston responded with an 8-1 run with three Sundeen kills, and single kills from Solheim and Salentine for a 21-4 lead. The Pirates led 24-8 and RLCC hit the ball out of bounds and Crookston won 25-8 to win the match 3-0. “We were very happy with the way the girls have played this week,” said Coach Englestad. “They played well and with all the activities during homecoming week, I think they are a little tired, but played well again tonight.”
Crookston improves to 3-6 on the year and will host the Crookston Invitational tournament on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Red Lake County Central falls to 4-9 on the year.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| RLCC | 14 | 15 | 8 |
| CROOKSTON | 25 | 25 | 25 |
For Crookston
Kills – Ally Perreault – 7, Mallorie Sundeen- 6
Assists – Libby Salentine- 7, Anna Funk- 6
Digs – Breanna Kressin- 17, Libby Salentine – 10
Blocks – Samantha Sanders – 1, Mallorie Sundeen- 1
Aces – Ally Perreault- 2, Bailey Cameron – 2, Breanna Kelly – 1, Libby Salentine -1
