The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team fell in the first two sets before winning the next two to push the match to five sets, but the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons spoiled the comeback attempt with a fifth set win to win 3-2 (27-25, 25-9, 20-25, 21-25, 15-8) in a match played at Crookston High School.
FIRST SET
Fertile-Beltrami took an early 6-0 lead on five Pirate attack errors and one infraction. “It was not the start we wanted. We have been struggling with that since the first set of the season,” said Pirate Coach Katie Englestad (a graduate of Fertile-Beltrami High School). “The girls struggle with those first couple of points.” After a timeout, Libby Salentine snuck a second hit across to break the run, which led to back-to-back kills from Rylee Solheim and Ally Perreault to make it 6-3. The teams continued to alternate points until the Falcons went on a 5-1 run, using a kill from Abigail Ranz and Tori Erickson to spark the run and make it 14-9. The Falcons upped their lead to 19-11, but Crookston worked their way back into the set at 20-17 behind two kills from Mallorie Sundeen and a couple of Falcons’ hitting errors. After a quick 3-1 run from the Falcons made it 23-18, but again, the Pirates would not go away. Crookston got an ace from Breanna Kressin and Libby Salentine and another kill from Solheim to make a 7-1 run and take a 25-24 lead. “The girls were playing to win and were fighting for every point,” said Pirate Coach Engelstad. “The girls battled back, and that was great to see how hard they fought.” However, the Falcons had an answer as they finished the set with three straight points with kills from Aubree Swenby and Marin Roragen before ending the set with a Swenby ace to win the set 27-25. “We always tell the girls to play to win and not play it safe,” said Falcon Coach Solie. “We had some great netplay, and it was nice to finish it with an ace.”
SECOND SET
The Pirates got the first point with a Perreault kill before the Falcons got the following four points, highlighted by a big Marin Roragen kill. Perreault ended the run with another kill, but Fertile-Beltrami kept up the pressure with three aces from Jordyn Berhow, pushing their lead to 8-2 before a Crookston timeout. After the timeout, Berhow added a fourth ace and two more serves that Crookston could not return, eventually leading to a 14-3 lead. “The girls shut down and couldn’t get anything going,” said Pirate Coach Engelstad. Crookston made a mini-run with a Kressin ace and a kill from Hannah Loraas, but the Falcons were too strong in the second set, finishing strong on a kill from Ranz and a block by Erickson to win the set 25-9. “We played the way we are capable,” said Falcon Coach Solie. “We passed the ball well and took control of the entire set, and Jordyn served aggressively with the jump serve and got us going.”
THIRD SET
Fertile-Beltrami started the third set strong with a quick 3-1 lead, getting kills from Roragen and Kasia Wilson. Crookston tied the set at 3-3 and 4-4 before taking their first lead at 5-4. They were tied again at five and six before Crookston got their biggest lead of the set at 9-6. With the score 9-8, the Falcons had three consecutive attack errors to give the Pirates a 12-8 lead. The Falcons cut the lead down to 15-14, yet Crookston stayed tough and went on a 5-1 run that included two kills and a big block from Sundeen to prompt a Falcons timeout. “Our passing was off,” said Falcon Coach Solie. “Our hitters weren’t keeping the ball in front of them, and that caused us some problems.” Fertile-Beltrami tried to make a run, but a serve too long gave the Pirates a 25-20 win in set three. “I think the girls decided they wanted to play,” said Pirate Coach Englestad. “We played like we are capable, and they came out and played well. It was great to see the crowd into it. The girls were excited to play. It was a big win for us.”
FOURTH SET
The teams split the first four points of the set, which eventually the Falcons turned into a 7-5 lead, with neither team finding much success with their attacks. The Falcons continued to open up their lead at 11-6 after a kill from Swenby on a good team recovery play forced the Pirates into a timeout. Crookston worked back to take the lead at 16-15 behind three kills and two aces from Perreault. “Ally stepped up and played well,” said Pirate Coach Engelstad. Fertile-Beltrami took the lead back with a 3-0 run getting an ace from Berhow, but the Pirates took the momentum right back with a 4-0 run using two kills from Sundeen and an ace from Anna Funk before a timeout from the Falcons. Crookston turned the 4-0 run into a 7-0 run going through the timeout to take a 23-18 lead. The Falcons got it within a 24-21 score, but Sundeen answered with another huge kill to give the Pirates a 25-21 win. “Mallorie played great for us and really picked up her game,” said Pirate Coach Englestad. “We had seniors coming up with big plays.”
FIFTH SET
The fifth set started appropriately, with the teams splitting the first ten points. The Pirates getting kills from Loraas and Perreault aided them to start the set, but Fertile-Beltrami was the first side to gain a lead larger than one, getting kills from Ranz and Wilson to take an 8-5 lead. After a Pirate timeout, they broke the 4-0 run with a point, but the Falcons continued to play solid volleyball and push their lead to 14-6 after three Pirates mistakes. The Pirates got the next two points to make it 14-8, but a serve into the net gave the Falcons a 15-8 win to give Fertile Beltrami a set and match victory. “It was a great match, and it was a rollercoaster of a ride. I told Katie she is doing a good job because Crookston was scrappy tonight and played well,” said Falcon Coach Kerri Solie. “We played well. We have so many hitters that we can go to, and we did that tonight. It is nice to get win #3, especially on a Monday. It was nice to have a big and loud crowd and everybody on our team contributed to the win tonight.”
The Crookston Pirates fall to 2-6 this season. They will stay at home on Thursday when they host Red Lake County Central. “It was a good match, and look at the positive things, and Fertile-Beltrami played well most of the night, and it was fun to play well against them, and hopefully we can continue it the rest of the season,” said Pirate Coach Engelstad.
Fertile-Beltrami improves their record to 3-1 this season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 27 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 15 |
| CROOKSTON | 25 | 9 | 25 | 25 | 8 |
For Crookston
Kills – Mallorie Sundeen- 12, Ally Perreault- 6, Rylee Solheim- 4, Hannah Loraas- 3
Assists – Libby Salentine- 14, Anna Funk- 8
Digs – Breanna Kressin- 33
Blocks – Ally Perreault- 4, Mallorie Sundeen- 1
Aces – Breanna Kressin- 2, Ally Perreault- 2
For Fertile-Beltrami
Kills – Aubree Swenby -8, Abigail Ranz- 8, Marin Roragen- 7, Kasia Wilson, Tori Erickson- 6
Assists – Taylor Miller- 24
Digs – Brooklyn Strem- 25
Blocks – Tori Erickson- 4
Aces – Jordyn Berhow- 5
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