VOLLEYBALL: Return to state: Jacks sweep Otters for second straight year
DETROIT LAKES – It was déjà vu all over again for Bemidji’s high school volleyball team Saturday night at Ralph Anderson Memorial Gymnasium.
After sweeping Fergus Falls 3-0 for last year’s Class 3A, Section 8 championship, the Lumberjacks did it again on the same court with a 25-16, 25-23 and 25-17 victory.
The win sends Bemidji to next week’s state tournament in St. Paul. The pairings will be announced today.
“The girls really came ready to play,” said Bemidji head coach Teresa Colligan. “We knew they would be out for revenge from last year.”
Bemidji senior hitter Jessica Yost got her team off on the right foot producing 7 of her 14 kills in the first set.
“We added a new thing to our offense and I think it threw them off a little bit,” said Yost, who plans to play softball and volleyball at Bemidji State. “We just played as hard as we could.”
Fergus Falls bounced back in the second set, playing Bemidji to a 22-22 tie. But a Yost kill and a Timi Severson kill gave Bemidji its 25-23 win.
It was all Bemidji in the third set, building a 23-13 lead. A kill by Myria Colley made it 24-13 and a kill by Severeson ended the match.
“Those last five points, it was so exciting,” said Bemidji sophomore setter Alexa Greendahl.
While Bemidji advances to state with a 23-7 record, Fergus Falls’ season ends with a 25-5 mark.
“We feel we played better than we did last year,” said Fergus Falls head coach Renee Erickson. “We felt like every time we took a step forward, then we took two back. You can’t a give a team as talented as Bemidji that many openings.”
