No. 8 Sauk Rapids-Rice overcame a two-set deficit and rallied to win three straight and defeat No. 9 Detroit Lakes 3-2 in the play-in round of the Section 8-3A volleyball playoffs Tuesday in Sauk Rapids.
Detroit Lakes won the first two sets 25-16 and 25-20.
“We came out and really handled them,” Head Coach Jim Wood said.
The Storm rallied for a 25-14 win in the third set and both teams battled to the brink of the remaining two.
Sauk Rapids-Rice took both the fourth and fifth sets by two points 26-24 and 17-15 for the match.
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“That last set was crazy.”
Alannah Menk had 10 kills for the Storm.
Shay Nielsen led DL in kills (23) and digs (19).
Nielsen played her final volleyball game as a Laker in style recording a .500 hit percentage.
“Every other time she touched the ball it was a kill.”
A good night hitting is typically around .200.
“Shay had an awesome night.”
Allison Berg had 11 kills and 18 digs. Sophie Wood added 14 digs. Katie Larson (25) and Kyra Vagle (22) led the Lakers in assists. Alyssa Austin recorded nine kills and four blocks.
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Detroit Lakes ends the season with a record of 14-15.
Despite falling short, the Lakers ended the season playing some of their best volleyball. “I was very proud of them,” said Wood. “They had a great team camaraderie going on the court. It was really fun to watch. There was no head hanging.”
The Storm will face No. 1 Sartell-St. Stephen Friday, Oct. 24 in Sartell. The two teams met twice in the regular season with the Sabres taking both matches 3-1 and 3-0.
Section 8AAA Volleyball play-in round:
No. 8 Sauk Rapids-Rice 3, No. 9 Detroit Lakes 2
(16-25, 20-25, 25-14, 26-24, 17-15)
Statistics:
Kills: Nielsen 23, Berg 11, Austin 9, Hutchinson 6, Halbakken 3, Vagle 3, Wood 1
Assists: Larson 25, Vagle 22, Hutchinson 2
Aces: Berg 1, Larson 1
Blocks: Austin 4, Nielsen 1
Digs: Nielsen 19, Berg 18, Wood 14, Vagle 9, Larson 7, Hutchinson 4, Austin 1, Schramel 1
