The Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Ponies jumped out to early leads in each of the three sets and held off a furious, late push from the Climax-Fisher Knights to finish off the match in three sets (25-25, 25-17, 26-24) in a Section 8A play-in match played in Warren. “The girls played really well and I am very proud of them,” said Ponies Head Coach Ashley Stroble. “They played great.”
First Set
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo started off really strong with the first five points of the match and a 9-1 run to start the set overall getting a couple of kills from Gracie Anderson and a kill and block from Aaliyah Johnson. “I really like taking early leads like that… any coach does,” said Coach Stroble. “It eases the tension a little bit.” Climax-Fisher worked their way back into the set at 14-12 with five kills from Trinity Erickson and a kill each from Halle Reitmeier and Mariah Kurz. “We expected a little different tonight,” said Knights Head Coach Brenda Slyt. “We came out a little bit flat and hesitant.” Yet, the Ponies answered back with a 9-3 run highlighted by four kills from Lily Bayne to give Warren-Alvarado-Oslo a 25-15 set victory. “They have some really good servers and we knew that at times we might not be put in the greatest of rotations,” explained Coach Stroble. “There were a couple times where we got caught in some longer runs by them.”
Second Set
The two sides played even early on in the second set and were tied at 1,3,4,5,6, and 7 before a 6-0 run by the Ponies that included five errors on the Knights gave them a 13-8 lead. Again, the Knights worked their way back into the set with two kills each from Erickson and Reitmeier to get within a point at 16-15. “These girls play with a lot of heart, but I think we second guessed ourselves tonight,” said Coach Slyt. “We don’t have a lot of experience on our team and they haven’t been in a playoff setting before.” Yet, the Ponies ended the second set similarly to the first with a 9-2 run with two kills from Bayne and back-to-back aces from Aaliyah Johnson to win set two 25-17. “Senior leadership is where it’s at,” said Coach Stroble. Our Seniors are lethal together and when they are hitting and setting well we are tough to beat.”
Third Set
A 7-2 run early on in set three gave Warren-Alvarado-Oslo a 9-4 lead as they looked to finish off the match in three sets. “Those bigger runs really affected us and got us down,” explained Coach Slyt. “You gotta give them [Ponies] credit. They were the aggressors tonight and they wanted it.” As the set moved along, Reitmeier and Erickson added a combined seven kills to keep the Knights within striking distance. Meanwhile, the Ponies were able to keep their distance and had a six-point lead as late as 22-16. “We went with a different, one-block attack to prevent some of their tips and it worked well,” added Coach Stroble. “I was happy with that.” However, the Knights made a strong, last push to tie the set at 24-24 with back-to-back aces from Sarah Thoreson and back-to-back kills from Halle Reitmeier. Despite the furious rally, Gracie Anderson notched two consecutive kills for the Ponies to give them a 26-24 set victory and 3-0 match win. “It was starting to all come together late, but it just wasn’t enough for us to finish it out,” added Coach Slyt.
Climax-Fisher’s season ends with a record of 7-15. They will say goodbye to Seniors Trinity Erickson and Mariah Kurz.
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo will continue their season and improves their record to 9-11. They will advance to take on Badger-Greenbush-Middle River on Thursday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Climax-Fisher | 15 | 17 | 24 |
| Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | 25 | 25 | 26 |
For Climax-Fisher
Kills– Trinity Erickson- 13, Halle Reitmeier- 8, Mariah Kurz- 5
Blocks – Ava Larson- 2, Trinity Erickson- 1
Assists – Ava Larson- 24
Aces – Trinity Erickson- 2, Sarah Thoreson- 2
For Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Kills – Lily Bayne- 13, Gracie Anderson- 8, Lindsey Bring and Aaliyah Johnson- 2
Blocks – Aaliyah Johnson- 1
Assists – Elise Oberg- 22
Aces – Aaliyah Johnson, Gracie Anderson, Elise Oberg- 2, Lily Bayne- 1
