“The Vikings have not been happy with their execution on offense the last few games and knew this execution was going to be crucial to be able to pull off a win tonight,” reported Head Coach Heidi Isaman.  “The first set we struggled with this goal.  We had way too many hitting errors to give Battle Lake many free points.  We also let some key balls drop and had some communication errors.  Battle Lake took advantage and won the set.  Set 2 we started to get our offense flowing a little better.  Ryley Paulson had some big kills in set 2 to get the Vikings going but our blocking and defense was still struggling a bit and Battle Lake fought back. However a strong tight net play at the end by Kelsey Isaman sealed the deal and the Vikings won a very close set.  Set 3 the Vikings started stronger and junior Anna Stephenson really started to turn on the offense.  Tonight was the best Anna Stephenson has hit the ball in a long while.  Getting her the ball consistently tonight and her swinging with full power was a big part of our win.  We also picked up our blocking and were more patient waiting to go up with a little slower pace offense.  Once we finally got our timing down we blocked so much better. Ellie Welch came off the bench tonight and did a great job as a middle blocker for us.  Set 4 we was a back and forth point for point set from start to finish.  After a little rest Riley Berg really stepped up her defense and offense and she was key to getting this win.  Even after a mistake on our end and a questionable call to give them the ball back the Vikings pulled out a huge win with another close score.  Riley Berg crushed the ball to finish the game which was fun to see.”

Leaders for the Vikings were Stephenson (13 kills, 12 digs, 1 ace), Greta Tollefson (13 kills, 10 digs, 9 set assists, 4 block kills), Ryley Paulson (9 kills, 18 digs, 2 aces), Riley Berg (7 kills, 2 block kills, 1 ace), Allie Haiby (12 digs, 2 aces) and Sophia Paulson (8 digs, 16 set assists).

“Overall this was a close, fun match to watch and be a part off,” noted Coach Isaman.  “All the sets we won were within 2 points.  I was really proud of our girls for showing great improvement on executing our offense which has been a season struggle for us and for finishing with confidence.” 

The Vikings will host Staples-Motley on Tuesday, while Battle Lake travels to Rothsay for a Little Eight Conference contest.