RED LAKE FALLS VOLLEYBALL BEATS CLIMAX-FISHER IN THREE SETS

In a rare afternoon match during the week, the Red Lake Falls Eagles Volleyball squad visited the Climax-Fisher Knights in the last regular season tune-up before the playoffs start on Monday. The Eagles finished their regular season strong with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-20) victory over the Knights in a section match played at Fisher High School. “We played really well today,” said Red Lake Falls Head Coach Nicki Gullingsrud, “We read the ball and played excellent defense.”

First Set
The match started with a Trinity Erickson kill to give the Knights an early lead. After an attack error gave them the first two points, Greta Philipp and Savanna Nelson followed with a couple of kills to tie it at 2-2. The Eagles opened up a 11-7 lead, after two kills and an ace from Gabby Casavan and two more kills from Philipp. Climax-Fisher followed with a 5-1 run on two kills from Reitmeier, a block from Erickson, and an ace from Ava Larson. The Eagles turned it up the rest of the set. They got three more kills and another ace from Casavan, as well as a block from Lexi Swendra. “Our hitters were very aggressive today,” said Coach Gullingsrud. “It was a well-balanced attack and that only helps us because they can’t just focus on one hitter.” The Knights stuck around with back-to-back kills from Halle Reitmeier, and a block and kill from Erickson. “It wasn’t our best play, but we still found a way to put the ball down for points,” said Climax-Fisher Head Coach Brenda Slyt. However, the Eagles got a big kill from Greta Philipp to end the set at 25-17.

Second Set
Trinity Erickson notched the first four points of the set for Climax-Fisher, but they still trailed 5-4. “Trinity is a smart player and you can just tell that she is Senior. She shows that experience,” said Coach Slyt. “She is a great role model and leader for our team.” The Eagles then went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by two kills from Casavan and a kill from Emma Knott. After three points from the Knights, RLF went on another run of 5-0 on two aces from Casavan, and kills from Swendra and Philipp. “We also served very well today,” added Coach Gullingsrud. “I don’t think we missed a serve.” Climax-Fisher got as close as 19-15 with two kills from Erickson and a kill from Larson. “There was a lot of stuff coming into the middle of the court and that is something that we’ve been trying to work on,” explained Coach Gullingsrud. “We will continue to work on that because they did find some holes.” But, the Eagles ended strong with a kill by Swendra to win the second set 25-19. “There wasn’t a lot of energy on our side. There were moments and I definitely don’t take that away from the girls because there were sparks,” explained Coach Slyt. “I do wish that we could have built on some of those sparks. We just couldn’t keep up the energy on our end.”

Third Set
Halle Reitmeier began the third set strong for Climax-Fisher with three kills for a 3-1 lead. Casavan added another kill to tie the set back up at three. The teams traded points and were also tied at 4,5,6, and 7. After more back-and-forth, Red Lake Falls took control. Tied at 11-11, the Eagles went on a 5-0. The Knights got it as close as three at 16-13, but three kills from Emma Knott, and two kills from Lexi Swendra got the score to 24-20 before Gabby Casavan got a kill to end the set at 25-20 to win the match. “All the wheels were turning for us today,” said Coach Gullingsrud. “We have talked about how now is the time to start stepping up everyday… it’s steps and not big jumps and the consistency is showing because of it.”

Red Lake Falls ends their regular season with a 12-14 record. They will host the Northern Freeze on Monday in the first round of the playoffs.
Climax-Fisher finishes their regular season with a record of 7-14. They will travel to play Warren-Alvarado-Oslo on Monday in the first round of the playoffs- a match you can listen to here on KROX. “It is nice that we will still have a couple of practices,” said Coach Slyt. “That will allow us to go into the playoffs with a whole new mindset.”

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