The Vikings started strong serving aggressively at the Nuggets and got into a nice offense flow right away.  Middle hitter Anna Stephenson played very aggressively all night both defensively and offensively to lead the Vikings.  The Vikings executed well and controlled the pace of the game for most of the first set to win 25-18.  Second set was a little more of a back and forth battle but the Vikings came out on top with some long back and forth rallies which has been a struggle for us.  Their transition showed much improvement to come out on top with the rallies.  Sophomore setter Sophia Paulson made some great setting choices while senior middle hitter Greta Tollefson was extremely smart with the ball to find the open spot and run a little more complex offense.  The Vikings won set 2 25-19.  Set 3 the Vikings had a run and some miscommunication and some passing issues to dig themselves a little hole.  A few nice passes by sophomore Kelsey Isaman and Anna Stephenson got us back in system but we could just dig out of the hole fast even and lost set 3 22-25.  Set 4 Hawley started strong and went after us on serve receive and our girls started panic a bit which caused us to be out of sorts defensively.  We ending up playing too much defense and not enough offense.  A few big digs by Allie Haiby however and a strong serving run by Kelsey Isaman got us back in the game but once again our hole was dug too deep and the Vikings lost 15-25.  The Vikings ended up losing set 5 with a very similar pattern as set 4. 

“Overall, these girls made some big improvements tonight and were in a better offensive flow than Tuesday night,” said Coach Heidi Isaman.  “However, we dug too many holes on serve receive and defense that we could just dig ourselves out of.  The Vikings will be working hard to make improvements and adjustments to prepare for our next game which is traveling to Breckenridge on Tuesday, October 20.”

Stat leaders were Anna Stephenson (5 aces, 15 digs, 10 kills), Kelsey Isaman (3 aces, 12 digs), Allie Haiby (22 digs), Kiera Booth (9 digs), Sophia Paulson (10 assists) and Greta Tollefosn (10 assists, 11 kills).

No Hawley stats were reported.