Junior hitter Mya Foslien had a huge night as she delivered 20 kills in the match, 11 of them coming in the second set.  Madi Fagre contributed 9 kills, Izzy Puchalski had 8 and Jaclynn Nelson had 6.  Macy Grosz distributed 38 assists and had 13 digs.  Foslien and Madelyn Westrom led the lady Knights with 16 and 14 digs, respectively.  Leaders at the service line were Madelyn Westrom (13/13), Puchalski (10/10), Grosz (14/15, 1 ace), Whitney Westrom (14/15, 1 ace), Foslien (11/13) and Alaina Sykora (7/8).

Trailing 10-5 in the first set, Coach Foslien used an early time out to try to calm some nerves turn their play around.  “We seemed very tight, and just needed to take a breath,” said Foslien. The Panthers continued their lead for two more serves but then a side-out and a couple of three-point service runs by Puchalski and Whitney Westrom brought the Knights right back into the game.  “It was back-and-forth play with both coaches taking time outs late in the set.  Izzy Puchalski shined for us in set one with 4 kills and a solo block.  Our serve reception was also on point as we averaged 2.2 receptions.”

Set two was all WCA. Mya Foslien dominated at the net with 11 kills.  “She just came alive after a rough start in set one,” noted Coach Foslien.  “In our first matches with the Panthers she struggled to get above and around the blocks.  She knew that she needed to jump and put the ball down, which was great to see and also energizing for the team and fans.  Macy Grosz did a great job of finding Mya, even in the back row.”

Set three found the Knights battling back from behind as they started out with a 12-7 deficit.  Grosz then went to the service line and rattled off five points for a 13-12 WCA lead.  Then, it was back-and-forth once again, but the Knights pulled ahead 20-17 before Parkers Coach Amy Revering called her last time out.  Whitney Westrom was at the service line and went on to score two more points for a 22-17 Knights lead.  With a 24-21 lead on the board, Coach Foslien took a time out, explaining, “We took the time out hoping to put pressure on their server and we wound up taking the set when they missed a serve.  Their team is going to be good.  They have some very young talent and I see them being contenders in the next couple of years.  This is our time, and I think the girls had that as their focus.  Mya had 7 kills and Madi Fagre at 5 in that third set. Madi did a great job zeroing in on open areas or trouble spots.  She is constantly thinking about where to put the ball.  Our team did a great job of getting up on the block, not allowing big runs of points or being shaken by nice kills. They were patient and played with a determined spirit.”

Parkers Prairie was led by Kendal Strand and Evie Grinager with 8 kills each, while Alyssa Revering contributed 7 kills.

Parkers Prairie finishes their season with a record of 24 wins and 6 losses.

West Central Area improves to 21-9 and will now face the top-seeded Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars in the South Sub-Section finals on Thursday night at 8:00pm at Kennedy Secondary School in Fergus Falls.