CROOKSTON VOLLEYBALL BEATS MAHNOMEN/WAUBUN

The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team won the first two sets and finished strong in the fourth set to beat the Mahnomen/Waubun Thunderbirds 3-1 (25-23, 25-11, 15-25, 25-20) in a match at the Crookston High School gymnasium.

FIRST SET
Mahnomen/Waubun came out strong and started the match on a 6-1 run while taking advantage of four Crookston errors. The Pirates battled back to tie the set at 9-9 after two Emily Bowman aces. The teams were tied at 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, and 21 after a Mackenzie Funk kill. Crookston had a 24-23 lead when Naomi Johnson had a kill off the head of a Thunderbird player and the Pirates won the set 25-23.

SECOND SET
Crookston had a much better start to the second set as Mackenna Kopecky started with a service ace, and after a Thunderbird attack went out of bounds, Kopecky served up another ace for a 3-0 lead. Mahnomen/Waubun clawed back to get within a 4-3 deficit before Crookston went on a 9-2 run for a 13-5 lead. Crookston continued to pull away behind the stellar serving of LaPlante with three aces, followed by back-to-back kills from Funk and Bernd for a 22-8 lead. Crookston continued to roll as they won the set 25-11 on a Joey Nesseth kill.

THIRD SET
The teams were tied at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.  Mahnomen/Waubun built an 11-7 lead before Daphne Johnson served up five straight aces for a 16-7 lead. The teams played even the rest of the way, and Mahnomen/Waubun won the set 25-15.

FOURTH SET
Mahnomen/Waubun took a 3-0 lead to start the set before Crookston scored six straight points behind five Thunderbird errors for a 6-3 lead. Crookston would hold off any extended Thunderbird rallies and led 20-19. Mahnomen/Waubun hit out of bounds, then hit in the net, and Crookston led 22-19. After a Thunderbird kill, they served out of bounds, had a bad pass, and with the score 24-20, they had an attack sail out of bounds, and Crookston won 25-20 to win the match 3-1.

Crookston improves to 1-1 on the year and will host Red Lake Falls on Tuesday, September 5. Mahnomen/Waubun falls to 0-2 on the year.
J.V. – Mahnomen/Waubun won 2-0   C Squad – Mahnomen/Waubun won 2-0

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