PREP VOLLEYBALL: Arrows sweep Raiders

FULDA — After two very close games Monday evening, the visiting Pipestone Area Arrows finished off Game 3 with a 16-3 run, completing a sweep of a non-conference high school volleyball match over the hosting Fulda Raiders.

Game scores were 26-24, 27-25 and 25-14.

The Arrows (8-10) displayed a diversified hitting attack throughout the match, as the trio of Taylor Kruisselbrink (13), Megan Remund (10) and Nicole Hollingsworth (six) combined for 29 kills to offset the stellar all-around play of Fulda’s Rachel Cheadle (13 kills, seven blocks).

“Our outside hitters (Kruisselbrink, a 5-8 sophomore, and Remund, a 5-8 junior) have been coming on in recent matches, which has helped Nicole (a 6-2 junior) in the middle,” exclaimed PA head coach Dave Dulas. “We played a pair of good matches last week and had lots of players contribute here tonight, allowing us to defeat a good Fulda squad, which has a very good middle hitter (Cheadle) and sure played us tough the first two games.”

Distributing the ball to the Arrow hitters was 5-8 junior setter Kelly Nettik, who finished the match with 27 assists and had the game-winning kill in Game 2 when her back set landed over the net on the Fulda side for PA’s 27th point.

The Arrows also had a stellar performance from 5-4 senior libero Amanda Haupert, who had a match-high 23 digs, while 5-5 senior defensive specialist Mikayla Enger (15 digs) and 5-5 junior outside hitter Brittany Evans (14 digs) also played key roles in PA’s defensive performance.

Evans was sharp on the service line, putting all 17 of her serves in the play, while recording an ace.

Hollingsworth (five), Remund (four) and the high-leaping Kruisselbrink (three) combined for 12 blocks for the Arrows.

Raiders serve 95 percent, hold several leads

Fulda, which had leads in all three games, certainly did not beat itself from the serving line. The Raiders, in fact, were brilliant from the line as they put 62 of 65 serves in play for a remarkable percentage of .954.

Fulda’s top four servers were 5-3 junior setter Dani Hermeling (15-of-15), 5-7 outside hitter Brittney Hermeling (10-of-10), 5-8 junior outside hitter Myah Holinka (10-of-10) and 5-5 senior defensive specialist Mallory Pagel (nine-of-nine).

“I was proud of our serving and we played really well during the first two games, earning several leads,” praised Fulda head coach Jen Tiesler. “But, we need to learn how to finish games and get some wins, which would boost our confidence.”

Brittney Hermeling finished with 19 digs for the Raiders and Dani Hermeling — who is setting for her first season since seventh grade — did a nice job of getting the ball to the Raider hitters, going 51-for-55, including 10 assists.

Cheadle sparks Raiders to 11-8 lead in Game 1

Cheadle, a powerful left-handed hitting middle who often drifts to the right side, was a force in the match’s first game.

Taking sets from Dani Hermeling, Cheadle powered several right-side kills which the Arrows couldn’t handle and the Raiders claimed leads of 3-1, 6-5 and 11-8 behind her hitting and blocking prowess.

A left-side tip by Holinka scored a key point for the Raiders during that opening surge, while Kruisselbrink provided most of the punch for the Arrows with her powerful attacks from the left side (sets from Nettik).

PA rallied to tie the score at 14-14 and took a 17-16 lead on a left-side kill by Remund.

A dandy middle block by Fulda’s Amanda Schumacher (a 5-9 senior middle hitter) highlighted Fulda’s play during that span.

With the score tied at 18, Remund whistled a kill down the line, giving the Arrows a 19-18 edge.

“That’s the thing,” noted Tiesler. “They were able to hit cross court and then, sometimes, they hit’em straight down the line. Pipestone’s ability to mix its spikes up made covering the whole court a difficult task.”

Cheadle and Kruisselbrink exchanged several kills, as the score was either tied or one team was up by one for the next several rotations.

A middle kill by Cheadle tied the game at 23-all and then Cheadle’s ace serve put the Raiders at game point, leading 24-23.

But a thundering middle kill by Hollingsworth knotted the score and the Arrows followed that with an ace serve by Kruisselbrink and the game-winning kill by 5-6 freshman outside hitter Aneka Bucher, who delivered a blow to the floor after Schumacher and 5-7 sophomore outside hitter Courtney Tiesler had teamed up to block a kill attempt by Kruisselbrink.

Game 2 is also evenly-contested

Game 2 was similar to the first set, as the score was always close.

A couple of big plays at the net by Hollingsworth staked PA to early leads of 3-1 and 5-3.

But, the Raiders played well as a team and when Schumacher and Brittney Hermeling scored on a tandem block, the score was tied at 8-8.

The Arrows went up 10-8 on an ace serve by Evans, but Cheadle’s crushing right-side kill capped a 7-3 Fulda run, giving the Raiders a 15-13 edge.

Later, an ace serve by Holinka, a kill by Schumacher and some great hustling-saves by Tiesler, Schumacher and Brittney Hermeling helped Fulda claim a 19-16 advantage.

Remund found a hole in the Raiders’ defense, stopping the Raiders’ surge, but Brittney Hermeling’s left-side kill kept the margin at three, 20-17.

The Arrows, however, regrouped and rallied to tie the score at 22-all on a left-side kill by Remund.

Fulda reclaimed the lead, 23-22, on the strength of a couple of dandy saves by Schumacher and 5-6 sophomore setter Caitlin Strenge.

A blistering left-side kill by Kruisselbrink tied the score again and the Arrows took a 24-23 lead when a Fulda block attempt sailed out of bounds.

Cheadle tied the score and forced extra points with a well-placed kill of her own, but a left-side kill (down the line) by Kruisselbrink gave the lead back to the Arrows.

PA served the next ball out of bounds and the score was tied at 25.

The Arrows’ Cassie Evans, a 5-6 senior outside hitter, scored on a floater over the middle and then Nettik finished the game with her back set over the net, surprising the Raiders and giving the visitors a 2-0 lead in the match.

Arrows finish third game strong

Haupert drove a kill from the back row to start things for the Arrows in Game 3, but Fulda countered with five straight points with Dani Hermeling at the service line.

A solid block and a middle kill by Hollingsworth helped PA tie the score at six apiece, but Fulda opened up a 10-8 lead when Tiesler’s ace serve hit the floor.

With the Raiders holding an 11-9 edge, the Arrows mounted their match-clinching rally when Hollingsworth’s middle hit found the back corner, Bucher scored on a right-side kill, Kruisselbrink crushed a blow from the left side, Nettik set Hollingsworth for a middle kill and Remund scored on ace middle block, capping a 5-0 Arrows’ run and giving the visitors a 14-11 lead.

The Raiders never recovered, as PA finished the game and match by scoring 11 of the next 14 points, continuing to get contributions from lots of players.

“We tried to give a lot of kids playing time in that third game and things worked out well,” concluded Dulas. “We really work on conditioning and I think that paid off for us at the end.”

Tia Muller, a 5-10 junior outside hitter, made a couple of fine plays at the net late in the match, scoring on a block and a well-placed tip.

PA returns to action Oct. 4 when they host Marshall while Fulda (2-9) travels to Westbrook tonight to tangle with the Westbrook-Walnut Grove Chargers in a Red Rock Conference match.

W-WG 3, Wabasso 2

WABASSO — The Westbrook-Walnut Grove Chargers defeated WA basso 22-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11 in a non-conference volleyball match Monday in WA basso.

Paige Erickson led the Chargers with 15 kills, 14 digs, one block and two aces, while going 24-for-24 on the serve. Dayan Commack picked up three aces to go along with 14 kills and nine digs, while Abby Herding was perfect on the serve with an ace and 35 set assists.

Hailey Osland added 11 kills and five digs for the Chargers with Madison Takle had seven set assists and Kelsi Wahl had one solo block.

The Chargers (13-3, 2-1) host Fulda today and then head to Adrian Thursday.

JCC 3, Fairmont 0

FAIRMONT — The Jackson County Central Huskies took down Fairmont in straight sets 25-10, 25-13, 25-12 Monday in Fairmont.

Michelle Van Epps led the team with 34 set assists, eight digs, three aces, and four blocks while going perfect on the serve (18-for-18). Kaylee Burmeister led the team in kills with 13 to go along with 16 digs and four aces. Lydia Brandt was second on the team with 11 kills and four blocks. Sydney Nyborg led the teams in blocks with seven.

JCC hosts Windom Thursday in Jackson.

Tags: sports, prep, volleyball, pipestone, fulda