The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team gave the Wolverines everything they had, but they were eventually overwhelmed as Wadena-Deer Creek defeated the Pirates in three sets (25-10, 25-4, 25-6) in the Wadena-Deer Creek high school gymnasium
FIRST SET
Kicking off the first set was a Payton Gravelle kill. The lead stayed at 1 until another Gravelle kill made it 4-1. Mackenzie Funk kept the lead at 3 with a kill, but WDC kept the hammer down, getting the lead all the way to 10-2. Crookston was able to cut the lead to 11-6 on three straight Wolverine errors, but a Tori Mallak block righted the ship for the Wolverines, allowing them to go on a 6-0 to get to 17-6, causing coach Katie Morgan to call a timeout. The run concluded at 19-6, but WDC took the opportunity to start another one, as kills by Gravelle and three blocks by Tori Mallak ended the first set in dominating fashion, as the Wolverines took the set by a score of 25-10.
SECOND SET
At the start of the second set, Crookston wins another long rally to take the first point. An Addi Carr ace tied the set at 2, and that sparked a big Wolverine run, as kills by Gravelle and Jada Dykhoff, as well as many serve receive errors, gave them a 10-0 run to go up 10-2. After Crookston stopped that run to cut the score to 10-3, WDC proceeded to start another one, this one a 5-0 run to get it to 15-3. Once Crookston made it 15-4, both Dykhoffs, Jada and Jenna, took over for the Wolverines, and with their help WDC ended the second set on a 10-0 run, their second run of that length in the set, to take the second set 25-4, granting them a 2-0 set advantage.
THIRD SET
As the match moved into set 3, WDC scored the first two points before a Funk kill made it 2-1. After that one Crookston point, though, WDC continued their trend of long runs, going on an incredible 14-0 run, with the help of three Ashley Pavek kills and a Montana Carsten ace, to get the score up to 16-1. Crookston cut the score to 16-3 with the help of kills by Joey Nesseth and Naomi Johnson, but the offensive power of the Wolverines was too much for the Pirates to bear, as reserves Celia Rinio and Alyssa Carr led the Wolverines home, winning the third set 25-6, and taking the match in 3 sets.
To hear Pirate Head Coach Katie Morgan’s full interview, please click below.
1 | 2 | 3 | |
Crookston | 10 | 4 | 6 |
Wadena-Deer Creek | 25 | 25 | 25 |
For Crookston
Kills – Mackenzie Funk 4
Blocks – Mackenzie Funk 1
Digs – Mackenzie Funk, Emily Bowman 6
Assists- Rilynn Aubol 5
Aces – none
For Wadena-Deer Creek
Kills – Peyton Gravelle 13
Blocks – Tori Mallak 3
Digs – Addy Gravelle 13, Montana Carsten 12
Assists- Addy Gravelle 11
Aces – Montana Carsten, Ashley Pavek 2