HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
In a match between two highly-ranked Class A teams, No. 1 Minneota outlasted No. 4 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 26-28, 15-7 Thursday night before a packed gym in Tyler.
Senior middle blocker Kenadi Arndt had a team-high of 16 kills and seven blocks to pace the Vikings, who improved to 12-0 in the Camden Conference and 26-3 overall, in the regular-season finale.
“Kenadi has improved the most from last season to this year,” said Minneota coach Hayley Fruin. “She did well in summer ball, but found a rhythm in pre-season and she’s just continued to progress from there. Her volleyball IQ has been really fun to see the growth with that; she knows what is open and she takes smart aggressive shots.”
Minneota will take on MACCRAY, rated No. 10 in Class A, in the Camden Conference championship at 7 p.m. Monday in Clara City.
Minneota then enters post-season action as the top seed in Section 3A-North. RTR is the top seed in the south half. The Vikings received a first-round bye and will face the winner of the Dawson-Boyd vs. Lac qui Parle Valley match in the quarterfinals on Friday, Oct. 27 in Minneota.
Minneota appeared to have the match in hand in the fourth set, leading two sets to one and leading the fourth set 23-20. The Knights then went on a 4-0 run and eventually forced a fifth set.
In the final set, the Vikings jumped out to a 9-2 lead and never looked back.
"I think the biggest motivator was that we knew it was the last set that could decide the outcome," said Arndt. "So, we had to play our best and limit our errors."
Opposing teams always get pumped up when playing a defending state champion or top-ranked team because it's a boost to its program if they can prevail. Minneota realizes other teams want to knock them off the top perch.
"Knowing we have a target on our back pushes us harder to play our best against any team," said Arndt.
Minneota coach Hayley Fruin called Arndt the team's most improved player.
"The coaches are a big part," Arndt said, when asked what has attributed to her improved play this season. "They have really worked with me and give me pointers that help a lot. My teammates have also pushed me in practice. With their skill level being so high, I have to play to match that to get myself better."
Elivia Faris had 15 kills for the Vikings. Ella Johnson had nine kills, two blocks, three aces and 11 digs in a solid all-around match. Nevaeh Hennen had 37 assists.
The Vikings and Knights (23-6) were knotted 19-19 in the first set before RTR took control. Minneota rebounded after dropping that opening set and played much better in sets two and three.
In the second set, the Vikings were in control from the start, bolting to a 5-1 lead and then went on a 7-2 run for a 12-3 advantage before closing it out. One thing that hurt the Knights was the loss of Dilyn Werkman to an ankle sprain. Werkman, who had 14 kills in the match, didn't return until the third set.
With the third set deadlocked at 19-19, Minneota tallied six unanswered points to take the 2-1 set lead.
“We didn’t feel like we played our best against RTR. We were allowing them to control the game and set the tempo,” said Fruin. “We weren’t passing well so that 5th set our serve receive passers knew we needed to step up and they did just that. We are hard to defend when we’re in system and the sets that we weren’t passing great were the sets that RTR came out with a win. Against teams like RTR, passing is more important than ever.”
The Vikings utilized another solid defensive performance. Senior libero Lyzah Sussner finished with a team-high 28 digs. Grace Hennen notched 23 digs, Abby Rolbiecki had 18 and Nevaeh Hennen 12.
Abby Carr led RTR with 16 kills.
MINNEOTA 3, RTR 2
Minneota.......................................23 25 25 26 15
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton...................25 12 19 28 7
Minneota Statistics
SERVING (good-att-aces): Grace Hennen 20-23-1, Lyzah Sussner 12-12-1, Emma Bottelberghe 7-7-0, Nevaeh Hennen 11-11-1, Dakoda Hennen 17-18-1, Ella Johnson 26-27-3, Abby Rolbiecki 15-15-0
SETTING (assists): Nevaeh Hennenb 37, Faith Myhre 9
ATTACKING (kills): Kenadi Arndt 16, Elivia Faris 15, Ella Johnson 9, Eden Meagher 5, Faith Myhre 2, Emma Bottelberghe 2
BLOCKING (aces): Kenadi Arndt 7, Ella Johnson 2, Eden Meagher 1
DIGS: Lyzah Sussner 28, Grace Hennen 23, Abby Rolbiecki 18, Nevaeh Hennen 12, Ella Johnson 11, Emma Bottelberghe 7, Dakoda Hennen 6, Eden Meagher 4
(Result Tuesday, Oct. 17)
Minneota 3, Dawson-Boyd 0
As playoffs loom, the Vikings seem to be playing on all cylinders as evidenced by another sweep of a Camden Conference opponent last Tuesday in Dawson. Minneota topped the Blackjacks 25-13, 25-10, 25-12.
The Vikings improved to 11-0 in the conference and 25-3 overall with the win.
Elivia Faris had 11 kills for Minneota, followed by Kenadi Arndt with eight, Ella Johnson seven, Eden Meagher six, and Emma Bottelberghe two.
Those kills led to Nevaeh being credited with 21 assists and Faith Myhre had 10.
The Vikings dropped in six aces. Ella Johnson had two and Grace Hennen, Lyzah Sussner, Dakoda Hennen and Abby Rolbiecki had one apiece.
Minneota also had a solid defensive match at the net as evidenced by seven ace blocks. Bottelberghe led with three blocks and Arndt had two.
Sussner led in digs with 13.
MINNEOTA 3, DAWSON-BOYD 0
Dawson-Boyd.............................................13 10 12
Minneota.....................................................25 25 25
Minneota Statistics
SERVING (good-att-aces): Grace Hennen 9-11-1, Lyzah Sussner 13-13-1, Nevaeh Hennen 8-9-0, Dakoda Hennen 12-13-1, Ella Johnson 16-17-2, Abby Rolbiecki 9-10-1
SETTING (assists): Nevaeh Hennen 21, Faith Myhre 10
ATTACKING (kills): Elivia Faris 11, Kenadi Arndt 8, Ella Johnson 7, Eden Meagher 6, Emma Bottelberghe 2
BLOCKING (aces): Emma Bottelberghe 3, Kenadi Arndt 2, Elivia Faris 1, Eden Meagher 1
DIGS: Lyzah Sussner 13, Abby Rolbiecki 4, Dakoda Hennen 4, Grace Hennen 3