Vikings advance to 3A Final Four
After climbing two runs of the Section 3A ladder with relative ease, Minneota has two more rungs to go to repeat as section champions and advance to the state tournament.
The Vikings swept Renville County West last Friday at home, and then disposed of Wabasso in three sets 25-9, 25-19, 25-11 on Tuesday night in Sub-section 3A-North at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.
Minneota now faces MACCRAY in the sub-section championship at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at SMSU. The winner meets the South half champion between Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and Tracy-Milroy-Balaton at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5 at SMSU.
Ella Johnson led the Vikings with 10 kills and three ace blocks. Ireland Stassen finished with 24 assists, seven kills, three ace blocks and nine digs. Elivia Faris also had seven kills, Megan Krog five, Emma Bottelberghe 3 and Kenadi Arndt two.
Lyzah Sussner chalked up 21 digs. Grace Hennen had 11 and Abby Rolbiecki eight. Dakoda Hennen had two of the Vikings’ four ace serves.
Olivia Olson led the Rabbits with nine kills. Natasha Dubbler had seven kills.
The Vikings broke away from a 4-4 tie in the first set, going on a 10-1 run for a 14-5 lead. The closed out the set on a kill by Krog and an ace block by Stassen.
In set two, a kill from Faris broke a 9-9 deadlock and sparked Minneota to an 11-1 run that included three kills by Johnson, one each from Faris and Bottelberghe, and an ace block from Arndt. A kill by Stassen clinched the set.
The Vikings also dominated the third set. Leading 23-11, Arndt and Stassen combined for a stuff block and the match ended on a Wabasso hitting error.
Minneota 3, Wabasso 0
Wabasso...........................................9 19 11
Minneota........................................25 25 25
MINNEOTA STATISTICS
Serving (aces): Dakoda Hennen 2, Lyzah Sussner 1, Abby Rolbiecki 1
Setting (assists): Ireland Stassen 24, Nevaeh Hennen 10
Kills: Ella Johnson 10, Ireland Stassen 7, Elivia Faris 7, Megan Krog 5, Emma Bottelberghe 3, Kenadi Arndt 2
Blocks (aces): Ireland Stassen 3, Ella Johnson 3, Megan Krog 2, Kenadi Arndt 2
Digs: Lyzah Sussner 21, Grace Hennen 11, Ireland Stassen 9, Abby Rolbiecki 8, Ella Johnson 4, Dakoda Hennen 3
Section 3A-North
Quarterfinals Oct. 28
Minneota 3, RCW 0
The Vikings opened their sub-section title defense with a sweep over the Blackjacks that took only 51 minutes.
Minneota notched 13 ace serves, including five from Ireland Stassen, three from Dakoda Hennen, two each from Lyzah Sussner and Ella Johnson, and one from Grace Hennen.
Dawson-Boyd led 6-5 in the opening set before a kill by Kenadi Arndt made it 6-6. That led to the Vikings going on a 19-5 run to capture the opening set win. The final two points of the set came via consecutive ace served by Johnson.
Trailing 1-0 in set two, the Vikings scored the next eight points that included three kills by Johnson and two by Emma Bottelberge.
The Vikings dominated the third set, bolting to a 14-2 lead. Leading 22-5, Minneota closed out the match with Elivia Faris serving the final three points. A kill by Johnson accounted for match point.
Johnson finished with nine kills, while Bottelberghe and Stassen had six apiece, Megan Krog five, Arndt three and Faris two.
Stassen also had 22 assists and Nevaeh Henn added eight assists. Lyzah Sussner has 12 digs and Grace Hennen 11. Krog and Stassen had two blocks each.
Minneota 3, RCW 0
RCW................................................11 13 5
Minneota........................................25 25 25
MINNEOTA STATISTICS
Serving (aces): Ireland Stassen 5, Dakoda Hennen 3, Lyzah Sussner 2, Ella Johnson 2, Grace Hennen 1
Setting (assists): Ireland Stassen 22, Nevaeh Hennen 8
Kills: Ella Johnson 9, Emma Bottelberghe 6, Ireland Stassen 6, Megan Krog 5, Kenadi Arndt 3, Elivia Faris 2
Blocks (aces): Megan Krog 2, Ireland Stassen 2, Elivia Faris 1, Kenadi Arndt 1
Digs: Lyzah Sussner 12, Grace Hennen 11, Abby Rolbiecki 6, Ireland Stassen 5, Ella Johnson 2, Emma Bottelberghe 2
SECTION 3A-NORTH
Results Oct. 25
Dawson-Boyd 3, CMCS 1
YME 3, Lakeview 2
Quarterfinal results Oct. 28
Minneota 3, Dawson-Boyd 0
Wabasso 3, RCW 1
MACCRAY 3, YME 1
Canby 3, LQPV 1
Semifinals Tuesday, Nov. 1
at SMSU
Minneota 3, Wabasso 0
MACCRAY 3, Canby 1
Final Nov. 3
at SMSU
Minneota vs. MACCRAY, 7:30 p.m.
SECTION 3A-SOUTH
Results Oct. 25
Edgerton 3, Red Rock Central 0
Murray CC 3, Hills-Beaver Creek 0
Quarterfinal results Oct. 28
RTR 3, Edgerton 0
Southwest Christian 3, Westbrook-WG 0
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 3, Murray CC 0
Adrian-Ellsworth 3, HL-Okabena/Fulda 2
Semifinals Nov. 1
at Worthington
RTR 3, SW Christian 0
TMB 3, Adrian-Ellsworth 0
Final Nov. 3
at SMSU
RTR vs. TMB, 5:30 p.m.
SECTION 3A
Championship
Nov. 5 at SMSU
North winner vs. South winner, 5 p.m.