WORTHINGTON -- The Pipestone Area Arrows volleyball team snapped their four-game losing streak with a 3-0 sweep of the Worthington Trojans Thursday in Worthington.
"It feels really good to get this win," Arrows setter Brianna Rieck said. "We haven't won yet this season and we have been working so hard in practice. So it feels amazing."
The loss is the second straight for the Trojans, who have lacked their usual aggressive style and seemed out of sync at times throughout the last two games.
"Basically we just need to do everything with a little bit more intensity," Trojans coach Melissa Schutz said. "Serve a little bit harder. Run the offense with some combination plays. Get some blocks, we need some blocks."
Worthington kept the game close in the early stages of Game 1, but Pipestone used five-straight points to jump out to a 15-9 lead. The Trojans tried to keep the game close, but they were never able to overtake the Arrows, who won the first game 25-22.
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"We were doing the little things and making fewer errors," Rieck said. "We stuck with it, even if we had a bad pass and we pushed to get it over the net. We fought all the way to the end."
The Trojans picked up the first point in Game 2, but they could not keep the lead. Pipestone took the next four points to make it a 4-1 game.
"We are just not setting the ball up," Trojans coach Melissa Schutz said. "We are giving them too many free balls."
Worthington was able to tie the game multiple times in the second set, but was unable to regain the lead until a shot out of bounds by Pipestone made it 23-22 in favor of the Trojans. But the Arrows stormed back, taking three-straight points to claim the win in Game 2 by a score of 25-23.
"Our hitters were getting through a lot more," PA coach Dave Dulas said. "We had a lot more balls going into the court than we usually do. Things at the net just went our way tonight too. We were scoring points that we haven't been scoringin the past."
The Trojans tried their best to get a win in Game 3, taking a 9-6 lead early in the third set. But the Arrows were determined to claim the win in three games, fighting back with five straight points to regain the lead at 15-12.
The two teams would battle back and forth the rest of the set, but Pipestone never gave up their lead, winning Game 3 by a 25-20 score.
"Everyone is working together," Rieck said. "You can tell we are all coming together as a team."
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Taylor Kruisselbrink had 17 kills for Pipestone Area while Tia Muller picked up eight kills and Megan Remund got seven kills. Amanda Haupert had 30 digs while Kelly Nettik had 30 set assists along with going 13-for-14 on the serve with two aces.
Anna Koepsell was 12-for-12 on the serve while picking up nine digs for Worthington. Brooke Henning was also perfect on the serve (14-for-14) with one ace and 11 kills. Paige Gravenhof had eight set assists while teammate Morgan Harberts had seven.
The Trojans look to snap their losing streak this Saturday when they will be participating in the Mankato Invitational at 9 a.m. at Mankato State University.
The Arrows hope to build on their first win of the season when they participate in a round robin tournament in Luverne this Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
Daily Globe Reporter Jordan Willi
may be reached at 376-7335.
