The Red Lake County Central Mustangs took the lead in every set and held on to beat the Crookston Pirate Volleyball team 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-22) in a match played in Oklee.
SET ONE-
The teams were tied at 1, 4, 5, and six before RLCC went on a 7-0 run to take a 13-7 lead. The run was capped by Mustang kills from Kia Bachand and Marissa Thomas. “That was the difference in the set,” said Pirate Coach Ashley Stopa. “We didn’t do a lot of communicating and that hurt us.” Red Lake County Central led 17-11 when Jamie Flatgard had two kills, and Leah Peterson added another for a 20-11 lead. Crookston battled back with Destiny Goulet-Ramirez getting a kill, the Mustangs hit out of bounds, and Amelia Overgaard added an ace to bring the Pirates within a 20-14 deficit. Red Lake County Central answered and finished the match on a Kia Bachand kill for a 25-16 victory. “We had some girls playing different positions and it took a while to get used to,” said Coach Stopa. “Once we settled in, we started playing better.”
SET TWO-
The teams were tied at 1 and 2 when Red Lake County Central went on a 7-1 run with three aces and a kill by Shawna Majeres. “We struggle at the beginning of sets,” said Coach Stopa. “We always get behind, but the girls have grit and battled back.” Crookston slowly chipped away at the deficit while led by three straight Emma Boll aces to get within an 11-8 deficit. “Emma had some great serves and got us going a little,” said Coach Stopa. Red Lake County Central slowly built a 22-14 lead. Crookston settled down and got a spark from a Mustang serve that went into the net and followed it with an Amber Cymbaluk ace and a Chloe Bruley kill. RLCC scored the next two points on a kill from Marissa Thomas and Kia Bachand for a 24-17 lead. Crookston didn’t give up and started a 5-0 run with an Emma Boll kill and three Emily Funk aces, and all of a sudden, the Pirates trailed 24-22. “Emily is who we want back there serving when we need some points,” said Coach Stopa. “She serves aggressively and got us some big points.” Red Lake County Central answered with a Thomas kill to win the set 25-22 to take a 2-0 lead.
SET THREE –
Red Lake County Central took a 4-0 lead behind two Jamie Flatgard kills. The Mustangs built a 13-5 lead before Crookston chipped away at the deficit and tied the set at 17 with a couple of Rylee Solheim aces, some Sundeen kills, and several Mustang errors. “Rylee was swinging well tonight,” said Coach Stopa. “Mallorie had some nice plays too. We played a lot better in the third set.” Crookston took an 18-17 lead with a Sundeen kill, but Red Lake County Central answered with three straight kills (two from Flatgard and one from Bachand). Red Lake County Central led 23-21 when Majors had a kill, but Crookston answered with a Chloe Bruley kill before Majors blasted another kill to win the set 25-22 to win the match 3-0. “Red Lake County Central had some big hitters and they were aggressive too,” said Coach Stopa. “We are still a little too timid and need to start swinging and being more aggressive.”
Crookston drops to 0-7 on the year and will travel to Mahnomen-Waubun on Monday. Red Lake County Central improves to 4-3 on the year.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| CROOKSTON | 16 | 22 | 22 |
| Red Lake County Central | 25 | 25 | 25 |
For Crookston –
Kills – Mallorie Sundeen-5, Chloe Bruley-3
Digs – Rylee Solheim-6, Emma Boll-4
Assists – Libby Salentine-8
Blocks – none
Aces – Emma Boll-4, Emily Funk-3
For Red Lake County Central –
Kills – Kia Bachand-9, Jamie Flatgard-8
Assists – Bailey Sherman-19
Blocks – Marissa Thomas-4, Jamie Flatgard-2
Aces – Jamie Flatgard-4, Shawna Majeres-2
