The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team had no answer for the high-powered Red Lake Falls offense, falling in straight sets (25-10, 25-15, 25-15) on Tuesday night at Robert Matzke Gymnasium at Lafayette High School.
FIRST SET
The first set kicked off with a powerful kill by Shandi Nelson, and her second one quickly made it 3-0. Nelson then delivered a block to increase the lead to 6-0, warranting a very early Katie Morgan timeout. The run ended at 7 before the Pirates finally scored. The lead stayed at 7 consistently until a Dukessa Ramirez ace cut the lead to 10-5. The lead, however, quickly ballooned to 7 once again. Another Nelson block made it 17-8. The Eagles continued to apply pressure until they built a 19-8 lead. The Eagles closed out the first set with a MaKenna Hoefer kill, ending the set at a resounding 25-10. “We kinda discussed that we all need to do our own role,” said Pirate head coach Katie Morgan. “We need to control what we can control.”
SECOND SET
At the start of the second set, two well-placed Kylie Klipping serves opened another Eagle lead. A perfect Rilynn Aubol kill put the Pirates on the board. Another Nelson kill put the lead at 5-2. After a serve-receive error made it 7-2 in favor of Red Lake Falls, Katie Morgan called another timeout. The Eagles continued to push, building their lead up to 6 before a Joey Nesseth kill stopped the run. Then, a Naomi Johnson block and a great Dukessa Ramirez serve cut the lead to 8-6, and the run stopped at 8-7. A Nelson ace and Hannah Robison kill quickly made it 12-7 before a Johnson kill ended the run. The lead stayed at 5 until an Elizabeth Lytle kill made it 18-11. The lead then stayed at 7 until another Lytle kill made it 23-14. The set ended with a Reese Pahlen kill, winning the set at 25-15. “Red Lake Falls has great front-row players,” said Morgan. “It was lots of fun to go out there and be higher in the second set.”
THIRD SET
Beginning the third set was yet another Shandi Nelson kill. Aubol then tied it up at 1. Two pretty Nelson serves made it 6-3 Eagles, which quickly ended on a Naomi Johnson kill. The lead stayed at two for a while until a great net play by Kayla Schafer made it 13-9 Eagles. The lead stayed around four, and it was 17-13 until a MaKenna Hoefer ace made it 18-13. The Eagles continued to push, building their lead up to 20-13. Red Lake Falls continued to roll and a Kylie Klipping ace ended the set at 25-15. “I felt like we had a lot of fun plays,” said Morgan. “Then we slowly get out of it and start to fall back into our silly mistakes.”
Red Lake Falls improves to 2-1 on the season. Crookston falls to 0-3 and will host Sacred Heart on Thursday. You can hear the match on KROX Radio.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Crookston | 10 | 15 | 15 |
| Red Lake Falls | 25 | 25 | 25 |
For Crookston
Kills – Naomi Johnson 4, Carley Knutson 3
Blocks – Mackenzie Funk, Rilynn Aubol 1
Digs – Joey Nesseth, Mackenzie Funk 9
Assists – Rilynn Aubol, Makenna Kopecky 2
Aces – Mackenzie Funk 1
For Red Lake Falls
Kills – Shandi Nelson 14, Elizabeth Lytle 8
Blocks – Hannah Robison 2, Shandi Nelson 1.5
Digs – Layna Schindler 16, Reese Pahlen 14
Assists – Shandi Nelson 15, Kylie Klipping 14
Aces –Reese Pahlen 5, Shandi Nelson 4
