The Northern Freeze (co-op of Tri-County of Karlstad and Marshall County Central of Newfolden) used outstanding serving and some big kills from 6’1 senior Keylee Dahl to beat the Crookston Pirate Volleyball team 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16) in the first round of the Section 8A Volleyball tournament played in Karlstad.
SET ONE
Crookston took a 2-1 lead after a Kasey Cwikla kill, but the Freeze answered with a 5-1 run to take a 6-2 lead behind three service aces from Tessa Anderson. “Their server was so good,” said Pirate Coach Ashley Stopa. “She served the ball so low and it was tough to gauge and tough to play.” Crookston battled back to get within two points (8-6) after several Freeze attack errors. The Freeze figured out what they were doing wrong on the offensive end and exploded for a 14-4 run with seven of the points coming from kills or blocks from Keylee Dahl. Crookston didn’t go down without a fight, but the Northern Freeze led by too much for a 25-17 victory. “She (Dahl) was very good and she does a great job of hitting over the blockers and she is a very smart player,” said Coach Stopa. “I think we got adjusted to everything as the match went along and we finished playing better than we started.”
SET TWO
The Freeze built an 8-3 lead with a mix of kills and Crookston errors. Trailing 12-6, Crookston went on a 6-0 run behind three Kasey Cwikla kills to tie the set 12-12. “Kasey moved her offense around,” said Coach Stopa. “She did a great job of finding the open spot on the floor and came up with some big kills.” The teams were tied at 13 and 14 before the Freeze slowly pulled away for a 25-17 victory to take a 2-0 lead. “They had two girls that really made the difference and it seemed like they came up with a point every time they needed one,” said Coach Stopa. “We ran into some problems with the low ceiling and that didn’t help us tonight.”
SET THREE-
The set was tied at 2, 3, 4, and 5 before the Freeze went on 6-1 run behind a couple of kills and an ace for a 12-7 lead. Crookston cut the deficit to 15-12 after a Cwikla ace, but the Freeze was too strong the rest of the way for a 25-16 victory to win the match 3-0. “The girls played hard until the end and I am proud of them for that,” said Coach Stopa. “The Freeze came up with big points and Dahl had some very smart kills where she found the open spot on the floor and she is a tough matchup.”
Crookston’s season comes to an end with a 2-21 record and will say goodbye to five seniors, Allie Love, Dani Boyle, Jasmin Hanson, Kasey Cwikla and Sophia Steiner. “They did a good job of bringing the team together and they played hard in every match,” said Coach Stopa. “They will be missed and it was a great group of hard-working girls that led by example.”
Northern Freeze improves to 15-13 on the year and will play Badger-Greenbush-Middle River in the second round of the playoffs.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Crookston | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| Northern Freeze | 25 | 25 | 25 |
For Crookston
Kills – Kasey Cwikla – 6, Jasmine Hanson – 3
Blocks – None
Assists – Emily Funk – 8
Digs – Dani Boyle – 12, Rylee Solheim – 8
Aces – Kasey Cwikla, Emma Boll, Libby Salentine, and Amelia Overgaard – 1 apiece
