Viking girls run record to 3-0

Minneota came off the Labor Day break with  3-0 win over Kerkhoven-Mudock-Sunburg at home Tuesday, beating the Fighting Saints 25-9; 25-16 and 25-20.
They ran their early-season record to 3-0 on the year and picked up their first conference win of the season.
This was a game in which, “We got everyone into the game,” said Coach Hayley Fruin.
As a result, the Vikings were struggling to “play together,” with new people come in an out most of the final two games.
“We’re still working on our rotation,” said the coach.
Yet, this was a game the Vikings controlled from beginning to end.
In the first set Natalee Rolbiecki stepped up to the net and smashed five kills and served four points. She would end the game with nine kills.
“We came into the match fired up,” said Coach Fruin.
And Rolbiecki was the spark plug they used to fire up the rest of the engine.
Morgan Hennen went to the serving line and served six straight points to vault the Vikings from a 17-7 advantage to a 22-7 lead.
“Natalee had a nice swing tonight,” said Fruin, who acknowledged setters McKenna Yost and Ireland Stassen did a nice job of getting the ball to Rolbiecki.
When she did turn over the reigns to her fellow hitters, it was often Abby Hennen who stepped up and pounded the ball.
Hennen ended with a team-high 12 kills. But she also set the ball a couple of times and and led the team with 10 digs. Rolbiecki had seven.
In the second set, Stassen served six-straight points and Minneota took a 9-1 lead by the time she was finished serving.
Just a little later, Ellie Pesch served five straight and suddenly Minneota led, 16-5.
KMS had a slight rebound with Lauren Krieger playing the “toughee” at the net and senior Haylee Johnson acting as “Johnny-on-the-spot” for the Fighting Saints.
But eventually Abby Hennen socked down the final point with a thundering bash on the KMS side of the net and it was 2-0, Vikings.

Set three was a matter of getting it done. Fruin filtered players into the game like coffee grounds in a blender. It was tied 9-0 before Roliecki served four straight points and the Vikings staved off a late Saint threat.
During the final game, it was sophomore Natalee Frie who stepped up big. She ended with five blocks and seven kills.
“They were scrappy,” Coach Fruin said about KMS. But with Minneota swinging hard and blocking at the net, there wasn’t much the 0-2 Saints could fight back with.

Next Game: Thursday, September 5 at Lac qui Parle Valley against the Eagles.

Team Stats:
Minneota        25     25     25
Kerkhoven-M-S    9       16     20
TEAM TOTALS: Kills 35, serving aces 5; blocks 7.
KILLS: Abby Hennen 12, Natalee Rolbiecki 9, Abby Frie 7.
SERVING: (No., good, aces) Morgan Hennen 9-9-2; Natalee Rolbiecki 12-12-1; Abby Hennen 11-11-1; McKenna Yost 12-12-0.
BLOCK LEADERS:  Frie 5, Rolbiecki 4.
DIGS: Abby Hennen 10, Rolbiecki 7, Ireland Stassen and McKenna Yost 6 each.
SET ASSISTS: Yost 30, Stassen 6.