The first set got off to a great start with strong serving and aggressive defense behind Kenzie Skogen in the left back. “We were able to keep the lead and try to lengthen our lead by a couple points at a time,” stated Askegard. “The Vikings are a very scrappy team and they play great defense. Amelia Newell was able to stretch our lead for us as we crept closer to 20. We had many long volleys with the Vikings tonight and both teams played with a great amount of grit to finish off the long battles. Our defense kept us in control and we were able to push to the finish to take the first set.” 

Coach Askegard continued, “Moving in to the second set we were able to come out with a strong start and really work the passers in the Viking serve receive. We took a great start up 7-3 before an attacking error on our side ended our run. Our defense was still really battling it out with the Vikings with both teams making many great hustle plays in the backcourt. Our net blocking wasn’t the greatest to start the night but definitely improved as the night went on. Kenzie Skogen was able to provide a little spark for us from the serving line and our dense was able to hang on as we reached a lead of 17-9. The Vikings continued to attack and we had a few more errors on our block than we would have liked to see. The set ended with senior Mya Askegard attacking a ball off the Vikings block for set point.” 

Emily Smith started the 3rd set off with a nice opening lead 8-1 before a defensive error in the Trojans back court. “Our offense seemed to have a little more flow to it in this set and we moved our hitters around very well,” noted Coach Askegard. “The attackers played smart and knew when to come in swinging hard and when to place the ball in a defensive hole of the Vikings. Our serve receive passers did an excellent job putting our setter on the net and our coverage was great. Pelican has some great players and they are a very young team. Their libero will be fun to watch in the upcoming years. Our goal was to keep the ball away from her tonight as we had a hard time doing just that. Tonight was a great collective win on senior night for all the girls.”

Leading the way for Barnesville were Emily Smith (13 kills, 15/15 serving, 1 solo block), Emily Riddle (3 kills, 3 solo blocks, 3 block assists), Kenzie Skogen (4 kills, 13/15 serving, 1 ace, 11 digs), Amelia Newell (13/15 serving, 1 ace, 7 digs, 1 solo block), Sydney Strand (12/13 serving, 1 ace, 18 digs), Rumley Biewer (20 set assists, 13 digs) and Jaida Bontjes (5 set assists, 6 digs).

Pelican Rapids was led by Kelsey Isaman (7 kills, 13 digs), Ellie Welch (5 kills, 3 digs, 10 set assists), Anna Roisum (5 kills, 4 digs, 11 set assists), Morgan Korf (41 digs, 3 aces) and Hazel Haugrud (18 digs).

“There was great energy in the gym for this match and both teams came ready to play,” said Pelican Rapids Head Coach Heidi Isaman.  “This was a great defensive battle all night with many very long rallies from both sides.  Both teams picked up a lot of balls to make for a very exciting game to watch.  Setters Anna Roisum and Ellie Welch did a good job moving the ball around to get all hitters in the offense, which is what we knew we needed to do to make their strong blockers move.  Outside hitter Kelsey Isaman had many quality swings on the outside and we did a good job covering their strong block and attacking again.  In the middle, Anna and Ellie also ran the complex offense better than they have for a few weeks, which was great to see them execute.  Even though this was not the outcome we were seeking, I was very proud of the way these girls all battled tonight.  We have a busy week next week with hosting Staples on Monday, Hawley on Tuesday, and travelling to Fergus Falls on Thursday for a tournament.”

This was the Trojans last home match of the season. They head to Frazee on Monday.