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Red Lake Falls Volleyball defeats Goodridge/Grygla in five set thriller

The Red Lake Falls Eagle Volleyball team opened up their 2024 campaign in a big way, defeating Goodridge/Grgyla Chargers at the Robert Matzke Gymnasium at the Red Lake Falls High School in five sets.

FIRST SET
The match started off with the Chargers scoring the first two points before a team block got the Eagles on the board. The Eagles proceeded to score the next four to go up 5-2. The teams proceeded to go back and forth until the Eagles went on another four point run to go up 9-4. The teams went back and forth once more before Red Lake Falls got to their largest lead at 15-8. Red Lake Falls continued to add to the pressure due to great serving by Wendy Zenteno to build a 19-9 advantage. The Eagles kept the 10-point lead consistent, until the Chargers scored six straight points to get the score to 23-17. The Eagles, however, stayed determined, and ended up taking the first set 25-18.

SECOND SET
The second set began with Red Lake Falls scoring the first two points before a kill by Kinsley Oslund started the scoring for the Chargers. Just like the first set, in reverse, the Chargers scored five consecutive kills to take a 5-2 lead. The lead then stayed at two for a while, at 8-6, 10-8, and 11-9, before two straight kills by Shandi Nelson equaled the set at 12. A service ace for Reese Pahlen then gave the Eagles the lead. The Eagles rattled off four in a row, then went up 17-14. Another service ace, this time by Nelson, made it 19-15. After a timeout, Goodridge/Grygla scored five straight points to take a 20-19 lead. The lead stayed at one until a great serve by Zenteno tied it at 23. An incredibly athletic play by Chesney Salo then gave the Chargers a 25-23 win, evening the match at one set apiece. “We had a little bit of nerves,” said Coach Gullingsrud. “Some new players making rookies mistakes and veterans trying to do too much.”

THIRD SET
The third set started out with two more great serves by Zenteno. The lead stayed at two until three straight errors by the Chargers gave the Eagles a 7-2 lead. The lead stayed at five all the way up to 17-12, as the Eagles played very consistently, until a service ace by Chesney Salo cut the lead to three at 17-14. The Chargers were able to cut the lead to one at 19-18, and tie it on an error by Elizabeth Lytle. Nelson took over the game once again, providing kills and blocks to give Red Lake Falls a 24-21 lead, and then a service ace by libero Layna Schindler sealed the set for the Eagles, winning it 25-21 and taking a 2-1 set lead. “It was huge,” said Coach Nikki Gullingsrud. “Our morale would’ve gone down a little bit…the game of momentum is all about highs and lows, and who can make fewer errors.”

FOURTH SET
The fourth set kicked off with two great net plays by the Chargers, who scored the first three points of the match. They were able to keep the lead at three moving forward, both teams playing their best offense of the match. Neveah Kotrba came in for the first time for the Chargers, and they responded in kind, scoring four straight to make it 11-6. It stayed at five, at 13-8 and 14-9, as well as 16-11. Nelson responds with three straight kills to cut the lead to two. Goodridge/Grygla got two points back immediately, making it 18-14. A kill by Brooklyn Kriel made it 20-15 Chargers, and two more from her and an ace from Chesney Salo made it 23-15. The Chargers scored the final two points to win the set 25-15, and force a fifth set.

FIFTH SET
At the start of the final set, an ace and a violation made it 2-0 Eagles, and then two more errors quickly made it 4-0. Another Klipping ace made it 5-0, and an Anna Sundberg block finally put the Chargers on the board. The Eagles then used tremendous defensive play to take a 10-2 lead. Three straight Chargers points made it 10-5, and two more made it 10-7, warranting a Gullingsrud timeout. Out of the timeout, each team scored one to make it 11-8. Torii Anderson then stepped up for the Chargers with a kill and a block to make it 12-10. Finally, at 14-11, a great serve by Klipping won the set for the Eagles at 15-11, winning the match 3-2. “Neither team gave up, they fought, they battled,” said Coach Gullingsrud. “I’m thankful we got the victory”

Red Lake Falls improves to 1-0 on the year, while the Goodridge-Grygla drops to 0-1.

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Goodridge/Grygla1825212511
Red Lake Falls2523251515

For Red Lake Falls
Kills – Shandi Nelson 30, Elizabeth Lytle 12
Blocks –Shandi Nelson 2
Digs – Layna Schindler 13, Reese Pahlen 12, Kylie Klipping 9
Assists – Layna Schindler 3
Aces – Kylie Klipping 3

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