BEMIDJI - With the No. 2-seeded Bemidji High School volleyball team leading No. 3 Becker 10-9 in the first set of the Section 8-3A semifinals Wednesday night, senior Heather Olson stepped up to the service line.
Once the Bulldogs (24-5) got Olson off the line, the Lumberjacks (18-11) were up 23-10.
Bemidji finished off the set 25-10 before continuing its dominance in set two to a 25-8 win. The Lumberjacks completed the sweep in set three, 25-23.
“They kept making a lot of mistakes on their side due to a lack of communication,” Olson said. “(Head coach Teresa Colligan) kept giving spots to serve and I kept hitting them. Not only did I have a lot of confidence in myself, but with the team as well.”
The Lumberjacks brought an all-around team effort to get the win to advance to the Section 8-3A finals, where they will take on rivals Moorhead on Saturday night in Alexandria.
Not only were the serves well placed, but the back row went all out to dig up each ball.
In the second set, with Bemidji leading 23-7, sophomore setter Addie Colligan punched the ball up and over the net while lying flat on her stomach. The Lumberjacks went on to get the point and soon after the set.
“Nothing is supposed to hit the floor,” Olson said of her team’s defense.
“Sometimes they will, but as long as you give your best effort that is what our team and coaches are looking for.”
After set two, the Bulldogs went to the sidelines with a look of defeat.
But they the Bulldogs didn’t start the third set like a team which had already dropped two one-sided sets.
Becker went on a 4-0 run to start, but Bemidji kept close.
The Lumberjacks tied it at 9-9 and the two teams exchanged leads from there, but it was Bemidji who made the final run to secure the sweep with a 25-23 win.
“We started making way too many errors,” coach Colligan said. “But we kind of stayed a step ahead of them.”
Senior Brylee Colligan led the team with 10 kills and 14 digs while also getting one of the team’s five aces. Senior Emily Falldorf had nine kills and a team-high four blocks, including a block to finish off set three.
Also stepping up for the Lumberjacks was sophomore Lexi Wade who had six kills and three blocks. Senior Lauren Rickers also added three blocks and three kills to help the cause.
Olson had two aces to go along with her seven digs and senior Katie Buckanaga had an ace to go with her 17 assists, eight digs and two kills.
“It’s really good that we have multiple hitters with multiple kills in a game,” Brylee Colligan said. “It’s harder to block when we’re coming out strong and they don’t know who is going to get the ball.”
With the win the Lumberjacks will head to their fourth Section 8-3A championship match against No. 1 Moorhead at 7 p.m. Saturday in Alexandria.
The Spuds beat No. 5 Sauk Rapids-Rice in three sets, 25-14, 25-15 and 25-20, on Wednesday to advance.
Moorhead beat Bemidji earlier in the season in four sets, but the Spuds will be looking for more as the Lumberjacks knocked them out of the section semifinals last season in five sets.
“It’s going to be a battle,” coach Colligan said. “They are looking really good right now and our defense has really picked it up, so yeah it’s going to be a battle.”
Bemidji 3, Becker 0
BEC 10-8-23
BEM 25-25-25
BEM Stats: Kills: B. Colligan 10, Falldorf 9, Wade 6, Rickers 3; Assists: Buckanaga 17, A. Colligan 8; Digs: B. Colligan 14, Buckanaga 8, A. Colligan 7, Olson 7, McLean 4; Blocks: Falldorf 4, Rickers 3, Wade 3, Naig 2, Buckanaga 2; Aces: Olson 2, A. Colligan 1, B. Colligan 1, Buckanaga 1
