The Sacred Heart Eagles used a balanced attack to beat the Crookston Pirate Volleyball team 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-11) in a Section 8A matchup at the Crookston High School Gymnasium.
SET ONE –
The first set was tied at two when Crookston went on a 4-0 run behind a Libby Salentine ace and a Mallorie Sundeen kill for a 6-2 lead. “We came out strong,” said Crookston Coach Ashley Stopa. “We made some nice adjustments, and that was good to see.” Sacred Heart battled back to tie the set at 10, and the teams were tied at 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Sacred Heart led 20-19 when they finished the set with a Grace Vonesh kill, a point when Crookston’s attack went out of bounds, Avery Horken had a kill, Bella Knudson added a kill, and Horken added another kill to end the set for a 25-20 victory. “We got more comfortable in our positions, and our passing got better,” said Sacred Heart coach Ellen Hemsing. “Those girls are here to play ball, and they are competitive, and it was nice to end on a streak.”
SET TWO –
Sacred Heart jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Crookston battled back with a Rylee Solheim kill and an Emily Funk ace to tie the set at four. Sacred Heart took over the set with a kill from Sydney Lloyd and two kills from Kyra Majors to spark a 12-1 run for a 16-5 lead. “It was an all-around team effort,” said Eagle Coach Hemsing. “We started to do all the little things, and that got us going.” Sacred Heart continued to roll and cruised to a 25-13 victory. “We started to get tentative again,” said Pirate Coach Stopa. “Our communication broke down, and Sacred Heart’s hitters took advantage of it.”
SET THREE –
The teams were tied at 1 and 2 before Sacred Heart went on a 4-0 run behind a Vonesh kill, an ace by Paige Brandner, a Lloyd kill, and a Crookston attack error for a 6-2 lead. “We weren’t as aggressive and were kind of just hitting the ball over,” said Crookston Coach Stopa. Crookston’s Emily Funk had a kill and an ace to bring Crookston within two points, but that would be as close as they would get as Grace Vonesh had four kills and two aces, Kyra Majors added two kills. Several other players chipped in, and the Eagles coasted to a 25-11 victory to win the match 3-0. “The girls knew what their job was, and they got it done,” said Sacred Heart Coach Hemsing. “Anybody out there for us with all of our almost six-foot girls is fun.”
Crookston drops to 0-3 on the year and will travel to Red Lake Falls on Tuesday. Crookston will be without Libby Salentine because she will be at a swim meet, and Rylee Solheim will be playing in the section soccer tournament. “It is great that they are playing two sports, but it is hard going from soccer and swimming to volleyball,” said Crookston Coach Stopa. Sacred Heart improves to 1-1 on the year and will take on Red Lake County Central on Tuesday.
J.V. – Sacred Heart won 2-1 C squad – Crookston won 2-0
[yotuwp type=”videos” id=”bZOyyEo2s3w” ]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Sacred Heart | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| CROOKSTON | 20 | 13 | 11 |
For Crookston-
Kills – Rylee Solheim – 4, Mallorie Sundeen – 4
Blocks – Rylee Solheim – 2, Hannah Loraas – 2, Destiny Goulet-Ramirez – 2
Assists – Emily Funk – 4
Digs – Emily Funk – 4, Emma Boll – 4, Libby Salentine – 3
Aces – Emily Funk – 2
For Sacred Heart –
Kills – Kyra Majors – 11, Avery Horken – 10, Bella Knudson – 6
Blocks – Kyra Majors – 2
Digs – Dana Walski – 28
Aces – Grace Vonesh – 4, Sydney Lloyd – 4
