SACRED HEART VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS RED LAKE FALLS

In an important Section 8A matchup, the Sacred Heart Eagles won a tight first set and used that to propel them to a three-set victory over the Red Lake Falls Eagles (27-25, 25-15, 25-15) in a match played at Sacred Heart on Thursday. “We didn’t look ready to play,” said Red Lake Falls Head Coach Nicki Gullingsrud. “We have to give Sacred Heart credit. They executed well, served tough, passed well, and played great defense.”

FIRST SET
The first set was tightly contested and had 12 ties (1,2,3,4,5,9,11,18,19,20,24, and 25). After alternating the first ten points, Red Lake Falls went on a quick 4-0 run, getting kills from Brooklyn Cardinal and Savanna Nelson. Then, Sacred Heart answered back with their own 4-0 run on four RLF errors to tie it at 9-9. “We struggled to get anything going from the start and we made some silly mistakes and we dug ourselves a hole,” explained Coach Gullingsrud. RLF opened up their lead to 17-12 behind three kills from Gabby Casavan and an ace from Cardinal. “We are a little less-experienced so we are still learning how to adjust to sets and finding the court and they are still working that stuff out,” said Sacred Heart Head Coach Emily Vonasek. “I always say take care of the ball, but sometimes we forget that.” But, more RLF errors allowed Sacred Heart right back into in as they gained a lead, at 18-17, for the first time in the set. “There were a lot of rallies tonight. They talked about needing to be aggressive and we did that at times, but there were times where neither team was killing and it led to some long points,” explained Coach Vonasek. “We have to finish points off and give 100% with each contact of the ball.” Two kills from Lexi Swendra, and another from both Casavan and Nelson got Red Lake Falls to set point at 24-21, but again Sacred Heart had an answer and took back the lead at 25-24 using an ace from Grace Loeslie and a kill from Sophie Evavold. Tied at 25-25, two more errors from RLF gave Sacred Heart the 27-25 win. “We have been playing resilient like that and they don’t give up,” added Coach Vonasek. “

SECOND SET
Both teams were evenly matched coming in and after the first set it looked like it was going to be a long, close match, but Sacred Heart had other ideas to start off the second set. After the first four points were split, Sacred Heart went on a 15-3 run that continued through two RLF timeouts. “I thought that first set is how the rest of the night was going to go, but momentum is a funny thing and you can’t take anything for granted,” added Coach Gullingsrud. Sacred Heart got two aces from Rylee Chwialkowski, and four kills from Avery Horken, including three consecutive kills to build the lead. “I think our setter [Grace Miller] did a nice job of spreading out who she was going to and making those decisions so she did  a nice job tonight,” said Coach Vonasek. Red Lake Falls tried to work back into the set with four straight points, including kills from Casavan and Emma Knott. Another 6-1 run from Sacred Heart later in the set opened the lead to 23-9 before they eventually won the set at 25-15. “I think this probably should have went four or five sets. If both of our teams are playing well it would be really competitive,” said Coach Gullingsrud.

THIRD SET
The third set started like it did in the first set with ties at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and six. Emma Anvinson had two kills for Sacred Heart and Casavan had two kills for RLF in those first 12 points. Sacred Heart grabbed the first lead of more than one point in the set at 12-7, behind aces from Horken and Vonesh, and four more errors from Red Lake Falls. “We didn’t pass the best but they served well and had some tough serves,” added Coach Gullingsrud. “There is always a positive and we didn’t give up and our team chemistry and is still strong and we will have to move on,” said Coach Gullingsrud. RLF tried to keep it close as the set went on, but Sacred Heart slowly opened their lead up using three more kills from Grace Vonesh and two more kills from Avery Horken to win the third set 25-15 and the match 3-0. “It’s important that Grace is a big presence and she is a big presence and it’s important that she is aggressive,” explained Coach Vonasek. “I felt like tonight we really showed up and we played well. Two wins this week is going to bring some confidence to this team and I think we are starting to peak.”

Sacred Heart gets back to a .500 record at 4-4 this year. They will look to get above that mark on Monday at Fosston.
Red Lake falls to 6-8 this season. They will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Lafayette Tournament.

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