by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls defeated Menahga in straight sets Thursday night in Fosston to win the 2021 Section 8AA North Subsection volleyball championship. With the win, the Prowlers advance to the section championship for the first time since 2014.
The Prowlers were coming off an emotional five-set win over Roseau in the subsection semifinal round last week. On Thursday, they played like a team that expected to win, and for most of the match, it appeared they would win with ease.
“Crookston, we knew going in that we should be able to handle them and we did our job. Roseau, we knew would be tougher and we didn’t really know anything about Menahga,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Hannah Lund. “We didn’t have the same intensity [as Roseau] and we were kind of off, but we still got it done in three. That was our goal, to show them that we were really the number one seed.”
The Prowlers never trailed at any point in the first two sets. They led 3-0 in the opening set before the Braves got on the board. The Braves rallied to get within a point on several occasions and actually tied the opening set 14-14, before the Prowlers won 11 of the final 14 points to take the opening set 25-17.
The Prowlers opened up a 4-1 lead early in set number two, with the Braves answering with a 4-1 run of their own to tie the set 5-5. The teams traded side-outs until the Prowlers took control by winning four consecutive service points, with senior setter Josie Johnson serving at that point in the rotation, to take a 13-8 lead. The Prowlers went on to take the second set 25-20.
Down 2-0 early in the third set, the Braves picked up their energy and won three points in a row to take their first lead of the night. The teams traded small runs for the majority of the set. The Prowlers led 10-7 at one point and the Braves answered with a 15-8 run that put them in front 22-18.
The same mental toughness that propelled the Prowlers to a come-from-behind win over Roseau last week showed up when the team needed it most. The Prowlers got a much-needed side out to make the score 19-22, and they handed the ball back to Johnson, who won six consecutive service points to lead the Prowlers to a 25-22 win in set number three.
“We still did our job in the end,” Lund said. “It wasn’t our best work, but we got it done and that was our goal.”
Hawley, the number two seed in the south, upset top-seeded Barnesville in five sets Thursday night 16-25, 25-15, 16-25, 25-15, 15-2, to set up a Section 8AA volleyball championship match between Thief River Falls and Hawley on Saturday at 7 p.m.. The site for the championship game has not yet been determined.
Thief River Falls 3, Menahga 0
• Scores – TRF wins 25-17, 25-20, 25-22.
• Assists – Josie Johnson 24.
• Kills – Mattea Erickson 15, Giselle Cole 9, Brylee Lingen 2, Carlie Rogalla 1, Josie Johnson 1.
• Service Aces – Josie Johnson 4, Carlie Rogalla 3, Brookie Bakke 1, Kendal Martell 1
• Blocks (solo-assist) – Giselle Cole 4-0; Mattea Erickson 1-2; Brylee Lingen 0-2.
• Digs – Kendal Martell 15, Mattea Erickson 6, Josie Johnson 5, Brookie Bakke 5, Carly Martell 5, Carlie Rogalla 4, Aliyah Alby 1.