The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team won a thrilling 3-1 (25-18, 29-31, 25-23, 27-25) victory over the Warroad Warriors in a Section 8AA matchup at the Crookston High School gymnasium. The win was Crookston’s first non-tournament win at home this season. “The first thing the girls said after we shook hands was – We won at home,” said Pirate Coach Ashley Stopa. “It was the first time this season not in a tournament.” The KROX Radio Pirate Player of the Game, Kylie Solheim agreed with her coach and said the win was sweet, “It felt really good to get a win, especially at home. It feels really good.”
The first set was the only set that wasn’t a nail-biter. Crookston led 12-9 when they went on a 6-1 run behind a couple of kills from Rachel Hefta and two more from Kasey Cwikla for an 18-10 lead. “I think everybody contributed,” said Coach Stopa. “I thought our blocking was spectacular.” The teams played even the rest of the way and Crookston won 25-18 for a 1-0 lead. “We didn’t have a lull in the first set, which is good for us,” said Coach Stopa. “We kept pushing and we went on a little bit of a run after a slow start.”
The second set was the longest of the season for both teams, but it wasn’t close at the beginning. Crookston trailed 1-0 when they went on a 5-0 run with a Kylie Solheim kill followed by two Hailey Seaver kills and Hefta followed with two more kills for a 5-1 victory. Crookston kept the lead and it looked like might be cruising to a second set victory with a 17-11 lead. On the next point, Crookston hit into the net which was followed by four straight kills by Katie Kotlowski and Warroad tied the set when the Pirates hit an attack out of bounds and the teams were tied at 17-17. The teams were tied at 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29. Crookston served for set point four times and Warroad served for set point two times. With the set tied at 29, Warroad’s Maria Zentner had back-to-back service aces for a 31-29 victory to tie the match at 1-1.”I think we did a good job fighting for each point,” said Coach Stopa. “It was a tough loss, but we were okay because both teams played hard and both sides were running all over the place.”
The third set was another two-point set with the teams tied at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 before Crookston’s Seaver had a couple of kills, Kasey Cwikla added two more kills and Crookston built a 12-7 lead. “We did a good job and it was nice to have a run,” said Coach Stopa. Warroad answered with a 9-4 run to tie the set at 16. The teams were tied again at 18, 19, 22 and 23 before Crookston’s Hefta had a kill and Warroad had a little miscommunication and let the ball hit the floor and Crookston won 25-23 to take a 2-1 lead in the match. “The win was critical for us,” said Coach Stopa.
Crookston had a fast start in the fourth set behind two Sydney Anderson service aces and Crookston built a 5-0 lead. Crookston expanded the lead to seven points (9-2) after a Hefta kill. “We came out strong,” said Coach Stopa. As they did all night long, Warroad battled back. Trailing 20-13, Warroad went on a 7-3 run to get within a 23-20 deficit. Crookston’s Hailey Seaver had a block for a kill and Crookston was serving for match point leading 24-20. Crookston’s serve went out of bounds, Warroad followed with an ace, Crookston hit into the net, hit out of bounds and the set was tied at 24. A bad Pirate pass gave Warroad a 25-24 lead with Warroad serving for set point. Crookston’s Hefta answered with two kills for a 26-25 lead. “Rachel is one of the most consistent hitters and has a fast arm swing,” said Pirate setter Kylie Solheim. “I was trying to set her up to get some quick points for us.” and Anderson served another ace to give Crookston a 27-25 victory to win the match 3-1. “The girls like to make my life as tough as possible I guess,” said Coach Stopa with a smile. “Our serving was strong and I was proud of Sydney on the last serve. We had a great team effort tonight and all nine girls played well and contributed.”
Crookston improves to 8-12-1 and will travel to East Grand Forks to take on the Green Wave on Thursday. Warroad drops to 8-12 on the year and will travel to Baudette on Thursday to take on Lake of the Woods.
J.V. – Warroad won 2-1 C Squad – Crookston won 2-0
Hailey Seaver goes up for an attack Dani Boyle with one of her digs
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Warroad | 18 | 31 | 23 | 25 |
| CROOKSTON | 25 | 29 | 25 | 27 |
Rachel Hefta with a big jump serve for an ace
For Crookston
Kills – Rachel Hefta – 19, Hailey Seaver – 10
Blocks – Rachel Hefta – 7, Hailey Seaver – 3, Sydney Anderson – 3
Assists – Kylie Solheim – 43
Digs – Kylie Solheim – 12, Rachel Hefta – 11, Dani Boyle – 11, Hailey Seaver – 10
Aces – Sydney Anderson – 4, Hailey Seaver – 3, Kasey Cwikla – 3
For Warroad
Kills – Katie Kotlowski – 14, Tiff Foster – 6, Hannah Corneliusen – 6, Savannah Lussier – 6
Assists – Marlie Johnson – 22
Digs – Katie Kotlowski – 17, Maria Zentner – 16
Aces – Katie Kotlowski – 4, Maria Zentner – 3
