The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team lost the first two sets, but bounced back to win the final three to beat the Bagley Flyers 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-7) in the season and home opener at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
SET ONE –
Crookston took a 1-0 lead when Ally Perreault started the match with a kill, but Bagley answered with three straight points to take a 3-1 lead. Crookston would slowly battle back to tie the set at 10 behind kills from Mallorie Sundeen and Libby Salentine. Crookston trailed 11-10 when Salentin and Rylee Solheim had kills followed by a Hannah Brouse ace for a 13-11 lead. Bagley regained the lead while taking advantage of Pirate serving and hitting errors and the teams were within three points the rest of the set, but Bagley held on to win 25-23 to take a 1-0 lead. “It wasn’t the start we wanted, but the girls recovered and battle the rest of the way,” said Pirate Coach Katie Engelstad. “It was just one game and we finished strong so that was nice to see.”
SET TWO –
The second set was a back-and-forth battle with 11 ties (1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14). With the set tied at 14, Crookston served out of bounds, McKenna Melbo had a kill for the lead. They slowly pulled away the rest of the way for a 25-19 victory for a 2-0 lead in the match. “We had a lot of missed serves and that was a big thing,” said Coach Englestad.
SET THREE –
Crookston jumped out to a 3-1 lead with a Brouse ace and a couple of Bagley hitting errors. The teams were tied at 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 before Bagley served into the net, Anna Funk had a kill, and Bagley hit into the net to give the Pirates a 13-10 lead. After a Crookston hitting error, Perreault had a kill and an ace, Sundeen added a block and mix in a Bagley hitting error the Pirates led 17-11 and they held on the rest of the set for a 25-20 victory to force a fourth set. “There wasn’t a stand out tonight and thought we had a good team effort,” said Coach Englestad.
SET FOUR –
The teams were tied several times again with ties at 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, and 10. Tied at 10, Crookston went on a 6-1 run with Perreault recording a couple of kills, and four Bagley hitting errors for a 16-11 lead. Bagley battled back to get within an 18-16 deficit after an ace from Kathryn Agnew, but Crookston finished the set strong with kills from Bailey Cameron and Salentine to win 25-19 to force a fifth set. “The girls got comfortable as the match went along,” said Coach Engelstad. “The girls should be proud of themselves and they way they played.”
SET FIVE –
Bagley took a 1-0 lead after Crookston hit a serve into the net, but the Pirates took over when Perreault had back-to-back kills, Solheim followed with a kill, and Brouse served up an ace for a 4-1 lead. “We came out swinging and were ready to start the fifth set,” said Coach Englestad. Crookston continued their impressive play in the fifth set with a Perreault ace, back-to-back kills from Solheim, a Salentine block, and a Bagley error for an 11-3 lead. Crookston got another kill from Solheim for a 12-5 lead and Bagley had three hitting errors and Crookston won the set 15-7 to win the match 3-2. “It was great to see the girls fighting to win and they were hungry to get the win,” said Coach Englestad. “Our setters did a good job and we learned a lot from this match and can build off it.”
Crookston improves to 1-0 on the year and will host Mahnomen-Waubun on Tuesday. The win was the first five-set match since the season opener last season when they beat Bagley 3-2. The win was also the first for first-year head coach Katie Engelstad who improves to 1-0 in her varsity coaching career.
Bagley drops to 0-1 on the year.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Bagley | 25 | 25 | 20 | 19 | 7 |
| CROOKSTON | 23 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 15 |
For Crookston
Kills – Ally Perreault- 13, Rylee Solheim- 11, Libby Salentine and Mallorie Sundeen- 7
Blocks – Libby Salentine and Mallorie Sundeen- 3
Assists – Libby Salentine- 19, Anna Funk- 8
Digs – Breanna Kressin- 12, Rylee Solheim and Anna Funk and Libby Salentine- 3
Aces – Hannah Brouse and Rylee Solheim- 3, Mallorie Sundeen and Ally Perreault- 2
For Bagley
Kills – Kathryn Agnew and Sloan Merschman- 5, McKenna Melbo and Katja Anderson- 4
Blocks – Sloan Merschman- 4, McKenna Melbo and Sadie Fultz- 2
Assists – Kassie Fontaine, Kia Nelson, Kaydance Eichstadt- 4, McKenna Melbo- 3
Digs – Kassie Fontaine, Ellie Bonik, Kathryn Agnew, Sloan Merschman- 3
Aces – Kathryn Agnew- 5, Sloan Merschman- 4, Kaydance Eichstadt- 2
