Vikings make quick work of Lakeview

Minneota needed only 43 minutes to sweep past Lakeview 25-10, 25-7, 25-12 in a Camden Conference match Thursday night in Minneota.
The Vikings (8-0 in the Camden Conference, 18-2 overall) got nine kills from Ella Johnson, eight kills from Megan Krog, and six kills each from Ireland Stassen and Elivia Faris.
Stassen also had 24 assists and 12 digs. Lyzah Sussner had a team-high 16 digs to go along with three ace serves. Dakota Hennen and Abby Rolbiecki had two aces each.

Minneota 3, Lakeview 0
Lakeview................................10 7 12
Minneota...............................25 25 25

MINNEOTA STATISTICS
Serving (aces): Lyzah Sussner 9-10-3, Dakoda Hennen 11-13-2, Ella Johnson 5-6-1, Abby Rolbiecki 7-7-2, Grace Hennen 12-13-1, Ireland Stassen 3-3-0

Setting (assists): Ireland Stassen 24, Nevaeh Hennen 3

Kills: Ella Johnson 9, Megan Krog 8, Ireland Stassen 6, Elivia Faris 6, Kenadi Arndt 3, Grace Hennen 1, Faith Myhre 1

Blocks (aces): Megan Krog 1, Kenadi Arndt 1

Digs: Lyzah Sussner 16, Ireland Stassen 12, Grace Hennen 8, Abby Rolbiecki 4, Megan Krog 2, Dakoda Hennen 2, Nevaeh Hennen 2, Elivia Faris 1, Kenadi Arndt 1Minneota 3, Canby 2

Minneota 3, Canby 2
(Result Thursday, Sept. 29)
In a thrilling match at home, the Vikings (17-2) held off upset-minded Canby (10-10) in a five-set marathon.

Ella Johnson, a junior outside hitter, pounded down a season-high 19 kills and five ace blocks for the Vikings. Lyzah Sussner, a sophomore libero, had an outstanding night on defense as evidenced by 25 digs to go along with two ace serves.

“Ella did a nice job of mixing up her shots and finding different ways to score,” said Fruin. “Lyzah also really saved us in this match. Her serve receive was on point and she defended over half the court. Se saved so many balls that should have been points for Canby. It was great to see two kids like Ella and Lyzah stay calm and take charge.”

Minneota, rated No. 3 in Class A, started out slow and trailed most of the first set until a hard kill by Megan Krog gave the Vikings an 18-17 that started a string of six unanswered points for a 23-17 advantage. Ireland Stassen had a pair of ace serves, Elivia Faris a kill and Ella Johnson an ace block during that stretch.
Canby fought back to close within 24-23 before a kill by Faris gave the Vikings the 25-23 win.
“We are young and inexperienced, so anytime you win a five-set match, growth happens,” said Minneota coach Hayley Fruin. “Whether you play well or not, we found a way to get out with a ‘W’”.
The Vikings bolted out to a 16-8 lead in the second set en route to a 25-19 win. The final two points of the set were scored on Canby unforced errors.
Despite being down two sets to none, the upstart Lancers refused to go away and won each of the next two sets to force the match into a fifth set.
“We just need to do a better job of not letting one error turn into three,” Fruin said. “We let teams go on runs with the same error multiple times. We need to do a better job of playing smart volleyball.”
In the third set, Minneota led 2-1 but never led again. Trailing 19-12, the Vikings went on a 3-0 run with a kill and ace block from Johnson and a kill from Kenadi Arndt. But Canby answered back and eventually closed out the set.
The fourth set was like two heavyweight boxers exchanging punches. Canby led for much of the set with only a few points separating the combatants. Trailing 24-20, the Vikings fought back hard and took a 25-24 with the help of two Stassen kills.
Trailing 26-25, the Lancers got three straight kills by Haley Noyes to take the 28-26 win and force a final set.
“We had a hard time finding the floor and that is a credit to Canby,” said Fruin. “They didn’t let anything drop, but also blocked very well. They were getting really good touched on balls that should’ve been kills for us and I think that was frustrating some of our players.”
The Vikings never trailed in the final set, although it was tied 9-9. With Lyzah Sussner serving, Minneota scored five straight points for a 14-9 lead on two kills by Johnson, kills from Faris and Emma Bottelberghe, and a stuff block by Krog. At 14-10, a kill by Faris gave the Vikings the match.
“We regrouped for Set 5 and the kids started being more aggressive at the net,” said Fruin. “We just can’t play timid. Too many times we get a 10-point lead and win by five. We need to start and finish. We have the talent, but we need to work on our mindset.”
Faris had 10 kills and two blocks, Ireland Stassen had 34 assists, six kills and two aces; Kenadi Arndt had seven kills, Megan Krog five kills and three ace blocks; Emma Bottelberghe five kills; and Grace Hennen 14 digs.
Karli Wollum, a freshman, led the Lancers with 17 kills and 17 digs. Brooklyn Kindopp, also a freshman, had 14 kills, and Noyes, a sophomore, finished with 11 kills and 22 digs. Freshman setter Emily Nelson had 32 assists and eight kills.

MINNEOTA 3, CANBY 2
Canby .................................23 19 25 28 10
Minneota............................25 25 16 26 15

MINNEOTA STATISTICS
Serving (aces): Lyzah Sussner 14-14-2, Ireland Stassen 6-6-2, Nevaeh Hennen 6-6-0, Dakoda Hennen 9-9-2, Ella Johnson 15-15-0, Abby Rolbiecki 17-17-0, Grace Hennen 11-11-0

Setting (assists): Ireland Stassen 34, Nevaeh Hennen 14

Kills: Ella Johnson 19, Elivia Faris 10, Kenadi Arndt 7, Ireland Stassen 6, Megan Krog 5, Emma Bottelberghe 5, Faith Myhre 1

Blocks (aces): Ella Johnson 5, Megan Krog 3, Elivia Faris 2, Ireland Stassen 1

Digs: Lyzah Sussner 25, Grace Hennen 14, Abby Rolbiecki 6, Ireland Stassen 4

CAMDEN SOUTH STANDINGS
(As of Oct. 3
Conference, overall records)
Minneota 7-0, 17-2; Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 7-0, 17-2; Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 7-0, 16-3; Canby 6-2, 10-10; Yellow Medicine East 3-4, 5-12; Lakeview 1-7, 2-10

CLASS A RANKINGS
(As of Sept. 29)
(1) Mayer Lutheran 15-3 (2) Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 17-2 (3) Minneota 17-2 (4) Badger-Greenbush/Middle River 17-2 (5) Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 13-5 (6) Mabel-Canton 25-2 (7) Fosston 16-2 (8) Ely 15-0 (9) BOLD 15-3 (10) Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s 13-1