By: Scott DCamp, Northland Communications
Thief River Falls, Minn. -
Central Lakes moved into first place in the MCAC Northern Division while simultaneously clouding Northland's postseason aspirations with a five-set win over the Pioneers in the Northland gym Wednesday night.
The stakes were high for the Northland volleyball team Wednesday night as it sought its first win against Central Lakes in close to a decade.
Excluding forfeits, the Pioneers' last win over the Raiders came at home on Sept. 10, 2014. Since then, the Pioneers have dropped 19 straight to the Raiders, including three postseason meetings. However, two of those losses have been changed to wins due to Central Lakes being forced to forfeit matches due to rules violations.
The Raiders have been the perennial front runner in the MCAC Northern Division for the past 10 seasons and they are in the hunt for another division title this year – potentially their 10th in the last 11 seasons – with a 6-1 division record and misleading 10-7 record overall heading into Wednesday night's match.
The Pioneers took the lead early in the opening set and led 20-15 late in the set. The Raiders won six of the next seven points to tie the set at 21-21. The teams traded 2-0 runs for the remainder of the set with the Pioneers taking the set 25-23.
The Pioneers built on their momentum in the second set. They trailed 3-0 early, but quickly took command with a 4-0 run. They led by as many as nine points and took the set 25-17.
The Raiders regrouped during the three-minute set break. If the Pioneers had a bad set, it was the third set. They fell behind early but managed to stay within two of the Raiders. A 5-1 run by the Pioneers tied the set score at 16-16 and forced the Raiders to take a timeout. The Raiders answered with a 4-0 run of their own to go up 20-16 and force the Pioneers to take a timeout. The Pioneers got a much needed side out to get to within three of the Raiders. They couldn't hold serve, however, as the Raiders won final five points of the set to keep the match alive.
The Pioneers looked like they would snap their losing streak to the Raiders in the fourth set. They raced to a 5-0 lead and were up by as many as seven points (12-5). The teams traded small runs for a while, with the Pioneers maintaining a five- to six-point lead.
The score was 15-10 when the Raiders got a key side out that started an 8-0 run that gave them an 18-15 lead. The Pioneers scored five of the next seven points to tie the set at 20-20 and they would eventually take a 23-22 lead that forced the Raiders to take their final timeout of the set.
Following the stoppage, the Raiders got a side out and a pair of service points to steal the fourth set and force a winner-take-all fifth set.
The Pioneers got off to a slow start in the fifth set and trailed 5-2 early. The Pioneers won six of the next eight points to take an 8-7 lead just before the side change.
The Raiders went on a 3-0 run after the side change to take a 10-8 lead. The Pioneers answered with a 2-0 run that forced the Raiders to take a timeout. The Raiders won four of the next five points to force the Pioneers to take their final timeout.
Down 14-11, the Pioneers got a much-needed side out and added a service point to get within one point of the Raiders. On the next exchange, a Raiders attack went out of bounds into the Northland bench, but it was ruled to be tipped by a Northland player, giving the Raiders a side out for the win.
The Pioneers hit the road this weekend for games against Minnesota North College - Vermilion (0-7, 0—9) Friday night in Ely and Minnesota North College - Mesabi Range (5-1, 12-4) Saturday in Virginia.
The next home action for the Pioneers will be Wednesday, Oct. 4 against Minnesota North College - Itasca at 6:30 p.m.
Central Lakes at Northland
@ Thief River Falls, MN
9/27/2023 at 6:30 PM
| FINAL |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
SCORE |
| Central Lakes |
23 |
17 |
25 |
25 |
15 |
3 |
| Northland |
25 |
25 |
17 |
23 |
13 |
2 |
Central Lakes
|
|
-- ATTACK -- |
|
-- SERVE -- |
|
-- BLOCK -- |
|
|
| # |
PLAYER |
SP |
K |
E |
TA |
K% |
A |
SA |
SE |
RE |
DIGS |
BS |
BA |
BE |
BHE |
PTS |
| Totals |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
Northland
|
|
-- ATTACK -- |
|
-- SERVE -- |
|
-- BLOCK -- |
|
|
| # |
PLAYER |
SP |
K |
E |
TA |
K% |
A |
SA |
SE |
RE |
DIGS |
BS |
BA |
BE |
BHE |
PTS |
| 1 |
Riley Gust * |
5 |
15 |
8 |
40 |
.175 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
17.0 |
| 2 |
Clowie Magnell |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
.500 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1.5 |
| 3 |
Giselle Cole |
5 |
9 |
6 |
26 |
.115 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
12.5 |
| 5 |
Jada Kosmatka * |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.0 |
| 7 |
Allyson Hart * |
5 |
12 |
5 |
40 |
.175 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
15.0 |
| 8 |
Madysen Nordstrom * |
5 |
3 |
4 |
26 |
-.038 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3.0 |
| 9 |
Kennedy Wallace |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
| 10 |
Grace Loeslie * |
5 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
-.125 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.0 |
| 11 |
Sunny Edin * |
5 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
.000 |
36 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3.0 |
| Totals |
44 |
28 |
149 |
.107 |
41 |
8 |
2 |
5 |
68 |
2 |
10 |
8 |
2 |
59.0 |
