Volleyball: Vikings turn away Otters in opener

Published 10:41 p.m., October 29, 2009

Daily Journal

It wasn’t supposed to end this way.

After finishing .500 in the competitive Central Lakes Conference that houses several teams from the largest volleyball classification in the state, fourth-seeded Fergus Falls hosted fifth-seeded Pelican Rapids in the opening round of the Section 8-2A tournament.

After sailing through the opening set, the Otters could do little more than sit back and watch the upstart Vikings pound their way to a 3-1 (25-8, 9-25, 19-25, 21-25) victory Thursday night.

“We could do no wrong in the first set,” Fergus Falls coach Renee Erickson said. “Pelican did a great job of responding in the second game and I think it caught us off guard a little bit. We just had a hard time keeping the ball in play. It was a little frustrating to end this way.”

Pelican Rapids — one of the smallest schools in Class 2A with hundreds of fewer students than Fergus Falls — took over the game by pounding the net and taking advantage of a number of Otter miscues.

“Our defense is something we improved on all season, but for some reason, we just didn’t show up to night (on defense),” Erickson said. “We also hit a lot of balls right into the net.”

Mariah Monke did everything she could to keep the Otters in the match, registering a season-high 10 blocks to go with 12 kills.

Amanda Christopherson collected a team-best 18 digs while Laura McGovern was a perfect 19-for-19 from the service line.

Thursday marked the end of the high school careers for seniors Christopherson, Leslie Defiel, Molly Ekren, Lauren McGovern, Emily Olson, Hattie Russell, Erica Ulschmid and Erica West.

“They are a great group of girls,” Erickson said. “It was a pleasure working with them all season.”

The Otters finish the season 8-16.

Pelican Rapids travels to top-seeded Wadena-Deer Creek tonight for a 7 p.m. match.

Ashby 3, Underwood 0

ASHBY — After ending the regular season with consecutive losses, the Rockets shook off any doubt and took off against the struggling Arrows, winning in convincing fashion in the opening round of the Section 6-1A tournament.

After winning by three in Game 1, Underwood got stronger as the match went along, taking the second set 25-16 before clinching the match with a 25-13 win.

“We didn’t start the first game as strong as we wanted, but we settled down and played more consistent as the night went along,” Underwood coach Diane Ross said.

Aann Bjorklund led the attack for Underwood (15-10-1) with an impressive 17 kills while finishing 17-for-17 from the stripe with four aces.

The Rockets travel to Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross on Friday for a 7 p.m. match.

Wheaton 3, HLA 0

WHEATON — After being blown out in Game 1 25-8, the Comets stayed close in the final two sets but suffered a season-ending loss in the Section 6-1A opening round.

Andrea Christenson collected a team-best eight kills while Taylor Brue registered 11 digs and 14 set-assists.

“I am proud of the positive things we did this season and look forward to the team being back next year,” coach Carrie Brue said.

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---