COLD SPRING -- The Bemidji High School volleyball team made history in more ways than one on Thursday night.
Most notably, senior Emily Wade surpassed 1,000 career set assists in the first set of a road match at Rocori in Cold Spring. The meeting is also believed to be the first ever between the two schools, with the Spartans prevailing 3-0 on set scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-20.
“Congrats to Emily. Hitting her 1,000th is a huge milestone,” BHS head coach Alicia Kriens said. “Not a lot of people have done that, especially in our program. I think we know of only two that have hit that. To be one of those is a huge thing. It’s a lot of dedication, a lot of time on her part. … She spends a lot of time in the offseason so that she’s prepared for that. It takes a lot of dedication to hit 1,000 assists.”
The Lumberjacks (1-7) struggled to close out sets, however, which led into their sixth straight loss.
Wade picked up her 1,000th assist midway through the opening set, becoming the program’s first player to do so since Addie Colligan in 2017. Allie Lillquist had the kill to clinch it, but Bemidji still trailed 14-11. The deficit grew to 19-13, but then Bemidji stormed back. They ran off an 8-1 spurt, capped by a Beth Bolte ace for a 21-20 lead, but Rocori (3-6) flipped momentum to close it out, 25-22.
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The second set followed a similar script.
BHS led 21-16, and yet the Spartans wouldn’t go away. The Jacks inched ahead to 23-21 on a Lillquist kill, but Rocori reeled off four straight on a kill and then three Bemidji miscues to clinch a 25-23 win.
BHS then had a 16-13 advantage in the third set, but it quickly disappeared on five straight Spartan points. The Lumberjacks hung within 22-20 on a Bolte kill, but Rocori finished the night three points later for the sweep.
Wade finished with 26 assists on the night and is up to 1,021 in her career. Lillquist and Kennedy Smith shared the team lead with 11 kills apiece, while Jenna Anderson led the defensive efforts with 15 digs.
Bemidji will return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 14, for a doubleheader against Sauk Rapids-Rice at the BHS Gymnasium. The first match is scheduled for noon and the encore for 3 p.m., with a junior varsity match in between.
