The defending Section 6A champion West Central Area Knights took another step toward repeating as section champs when they earned the South Sub-Section title with a thrilling, 5-set victory over the number one seed in the South, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa on Tuesday night in Fergus Falls. The Knights won the first two sets, 25-17, 25-23, lost sets 3 and 4, 20-25, 20-25, and then defeated the Jaguars 15-12 in the decisive fifth set to move on to the 6A championship match against North sub-section champion, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy. That match is set for 7:00pm Saturday at the Kennedy Secondary School in Fergus Falls.
“It was not a pretty win, but you have to win the ugly games, too,” said West Central Area head coach Missy Foslien. “Winning the first two sets give a team a mental edge, but if you come out flat, the other team is going to play like they have nothing to lose and that’s how BBE played the third and fourth sets. BBE was one of the most aggressive teams we have faced this season. We had a hard time defending their outsides, which we knew we would have to center our focus on. We also did not pass well in serve receive as they served tough. Macy Grosz and Mya Foslien connected going into set 5 with Sophie Sanstead serving aggressively, as well. Before we knew it we were up 5-0. Mya had 6 kills in set 5 and that early lead would help us down the stretch. We didn’t back down, winning the fifth set, 15-12.”
Grosz (15/16 serving, 1 ace, 47 set assists, 12 digs, 2 kills), Foslien (10/11 serving, 16 digs, 20 kills, 2 blocks), Sanstead (23/24 serving, 2 aces, 3 set assists, 17 digs), Madi Fagre (10/12 serving, 1 ace, 17 digs, 13 kills, 2 blocks), Izzy Puchalski (19/19 serving, 1 ace, 26 digs, 7 kills, 1 block), Wylie McNally (21/22 serving, 21 digs) and Jaclynn Nelson (3 digs, 8 kills, 4 blocks) all contributed greatly to the win.
“Overall, Madi Fagre played an outstanding game, going 40-for-40 with 13 kills,” reported Coach Foslien. “She had a big night defensively as well with 17 digs. Izzy Puchalski’s hustle and grit on defense led her to lead the team with 26 digs. It didn’t seem like our blocking was effective, but we had 9 total ace blocks, led by Jaclynn Nelson with 4. We have earned ourselves 6 more hours of practice this season and we are looking forward to playing Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in the Section Final on Saturday night.”