The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team battled, but the #7 ranked Sacred Heart had to many weapons and 6’0 senior Lydia Riskey recorded the 1,000th kill of her career as the Eagles won the match 3-0 (25-7, 25-13, 25-16) at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
FIRST SET
The teams had a good battle early on as Sacred Heart took a 2-0 lead with Lydia Riskey and Bryn Stevens getting kills. Sacred Heart hit out of bounds to give the Pirates their first point before Finley Horken and Lydia Riskey added kills for a 4-1 lead. Crookston responded with a kill and a Cecelia Newquist service ace to get within 4-3. Sacred Heart responded with a Bryn Stevens kill before Crookston’s Abi Bruley countered with a kill of her own, and the Eagles led 5-4. It was this point in the match that Sacred Heart took over with a 14-1 run behind 10 Horken service points, including three aces, along with Lexi Lawrence adding three kills to lead the way for a 19-5 lead. Crookston got a point before Lydia Riskey had three straight kills to spark the Eagles to a 25-7 victory.
SECOND SET
Sacred Heart took a 2-0 lead off two Crookston errors. Crookston’s Lana Peterson had a kill to spark a back-and-forth and the Eagles led 3-2. Crookston served into the net and hit out of bounds before Riskey had an ace for a 6-2 lead. After a Crookston point, the Pirates had two errors before a Greta Effhauser kill for a 9-3 lead. The teams battled back and forth as Sacred Heart slowly pulled away and took a 21-10 lead with kills from Lawrence, Riskey, Bryn Stevens, and Horken. Sacred Heart led 23-13 when Lawrence and Leah Kennelly ended the set with a kill each for a 25-13 win.
THIRD SET
The teams were tied at 1, 2, and 3 before Sacred Heart rattled off four straight points with a Riskey kill, a Crookston error, and kills from Lawrence and Bryn Stevens for a 7-3 lead. The teams exchanged points, and the Eagles led 10-6 when Lydia Riskey had back-to-back kills. The second kill was her 14th of the match, the 1,000th of her career, and the match was stopped to honor Riskey for her outstanding accomplishment. The Eagles led 19-10 when Crookston had a little bit of a run that started with a Morgan Boll kill, followed by an Adalyn Hanson kill and Brynna Kopecky added a kill to get within a 19-13 deficit. Sacred Heart finished strong and pulled away to win the set 25-16 to win the match 3-0.
Crookston drops to 1-3 on the year and will host Ada-Borup-West on Monday. You can watch the game on KROX TV or listen on KROX Radio. Sacred Heart improves to 4-0 and will be at the Ruth Hayden Tournament of Roses on Saturday.
J.V. – Sacred Heart won 2-0 C-squad – Sacred Heart won 2-0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Sacred Heart | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Crookston | 7 | 13 | 16 |
For Crookston
Kills – Abi Bruley 8, Brynna Kopecky 4
Blocks – Morgan Boll 1
Digs – Ella Anderson 11, Leia Parkin 10, Brynna Kopecky 8
Assists- Keatyn Kliner 7
Aces –Cecelia Newquist 1
For Sacred Heart
Kills – Lydia Riskey 15, Lexi Lawrence 11, Greta Effhauser 7
Blocks – Greta Effhauser 2, Bryn Stevens 1
Digs – Lydia Riskey 11, Finley Horken 10, Claire Adolphson 8, Lexi Lawrence 8
Assists- Finley Horken 37
Aces – Finley Horken 3
