STEPHEN-ARGYLE VOLLEYBALL OVERCOMES FIRST SET LOSS TO BEAT RED LAKE FALLS

The Red Lake Falls Eagles played really well in the first set to take an early lead, but the Stephen-Argyle Storm came thundering back to win the match 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18) in a match played at the Robert Matzke Gymnasium in Red Lake Falls. “I am happy with the way the girls stuck with it tonight,” said the Storm Head Coach Karen Evans.

First Set
Stephen-Argyle had a 2-0 lead after two violations on the Eagles, but the Eagles followed that with a 6-0 run that included three kills from Gabby Casavan. “We came out and played about as best as we could,” said the Eagles Head Coach Nicki Gullingsrud. “We came out really aggressive and it was really nice to see.” Another kill from Casavan, as well as two kills from Emma Knott and another from Lexi Swendra gave the Eagles an 11-6 lead. The Eagles maintained that lead for a few points but the Storm worked their way back with two kills from Riley Mooney and one from Josie Rivard to bring it within a point at 16-15. After six straight attack errors, Rivard added another kill. However, another string of six errors from the two sides was followed up by a kill from Greta Philipp to give Red Lake Falls a 25-19 win in set one. “It was pretty ugly,” said Coach Evans.

Second Set
The Storm jumped out to a 4-1 lead using a kill from Mooney. Two more kills from Casavan, including one that earned Brooklyn Cardinal her 1,000 career assist, got the set back tied at 6-6. “We said congratulations to Brooklyn and it’s a great individual accomplishment,” said Coach Gullingsrud. “We also said, and she knows this too, that without her passers and hitters she can’t get to that mark so it’s a great team achievement too.” They continued to stay close and were tied again at 7,8,9,10,11,13, and 14. “We were seeing what we are capable of early on and then the momentum shifted a bit,” explained Coach Gullingsrud. “Sometimes we go outside and sometimes we stay inside, but we need to spread the offense out like we did tonight.” Then, the Eagles went on a 5-0 run with three kills from Casavan and an ace from Cardinal that forced a timeout from Stephen-Argyle. Trailing by five at 20-15, the Storm finished the set with a 10-2 flurry with blocks from Grace Carlson and Tessa Durand, and a kill from Durand and Mooney each to win the second set 25-22. “Grace has been great at getting to those balls,” added Coach Evans. “An those were some hard hit balls they were sending over too.”

Third Set
The first eight points were split between the two sides, before RLF made a quick 4-0 run that was highlighted by a block and a kill from Savanna Nelson. Tessa Durand answered with a block and an ace. The teams battled back-and-forth and they were still tied through the first 32 points. Back-to-back aces from Macy Haugen helped the Storm take back the lead. “We lost a bit of our aggressiveness and confidence,” added Coach Gullingsrud. “We learned tonight that we can play with them. And we can play with anybody.” Greta Philipp notched three kills in a run that grabbed the lead back for the Eagles at 22-21. “Lexi Swendra has been so consistent for us. Gabby had a good night and Greta had another good night for us,” said Coach Gullingsrud. “This is a fun group to coach.” Yet, the Storm answered back with another run of four points finished off by a block from Josie Rivard to win 25-22.

Fourth Set
Yet again, the teams played tight through the beginning of the set with the Eagles getting three kills from Gabby Casavan and the Storm got two kills from Durand and Carlson and the teams were tied at 7-7. The Storm took the lead and bumped it up to five after a kill from Haugen. An attack error and a kill from Casavan cut the Eagles’ deficit to three, but Grace Carlson answered with three straight kills followed by an ace from Riley Mooney to make it 19-12. “The girls definitely stepped it up in the last three sets with their attacks,” said Coach Evans. “Our passing was a lot better so our setters weren’t running ragged like they did in the first set.” The Storm finished the set with two kills from Rivard and an ace from Marey Kazmierczak to win the set 25-18 and win the match 3-1. “We switched some things up and the girls did a nice job of adjusting,” explained Coach Evans. “We learned some things that we need to do better.”

The Red Lake Falls Eagles drop to 8-11 this season. They will have a few days off before they compete in the Frostbite Tournament this weekend.
Stephen-Argyle improves to 13-7 this season. They will also compete next at the Frostbite Tournament.

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