Local Video
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| Comeback kids: Raider volleyball beats Mayo in five to open playoffs |
By: Jeff Wald, Sports Editor
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Posted: Friday, October 30, 2009 11:21 pm
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NORTHFIELD — The Northfield girls volleyball team figured “it” out just in time to save their season Friday night.
The No. 4-seeded Raiders came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat No. 5-seeded Rochester Mayo 3-2 in the second round of the Section 1AAAA Playoffs. The game scores were 15-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-14 and 15-5.
It’s the last game NHS will play in its own gym as the bleachers will be torn down and replaced early next week.
“It feels great. This is our last home game, so it really meant a lot to win this last match,” said senior Josie Dockstader. We didn’t let anything drop and we never gave up. There was no question that we were going to keep going.”
That sense of desperation took a while to get going.
Northfield’s offense was non-existent in the first two games. Between inconsistent passing and errors, the Spartans didn’t need to do much to score.The Raiders had a total of four kills through two games, then found their next gear for the rest of the match.
“I told them before that this could ultimately be their last match,” said NHS coach Tim Torstenson. “For the seniors, that just hit home. I’m very proud of how they turned it around after the second game. It was like two different teams out there.”
With a 16-14 lead in game three, Dockstader and Lisa Atkinson took the match over at the net. The two combined for 25 kills in the match.
NHS led early in every game Friday, but finished off games three and four to force a fifth game. The Raiders also picked up their defensive energy and put their bodies on the line for every free ball.
Amanda Thompson also had a busy night setting, with more than 40 assists, once things came together.
“Once we started attacking more aggressively and hitting, things just started to fall into place,” Torstenson said. “They build their emotion off how they play, and that’s the way it’s been all year. It’s how this team works.”
The Raiders scored five of the first six points in final game, and they played like they knew the season was on the line. They led 9-3 and 13-4 before finishing off the match.
“If we lost this game, it was over,” Atkinson said. “At the end we were excited, but we were also really tense. We put all our energy together and just came out really strong. We didn’t want to lose.”
Atkinson had 12 kills and eight digs to lead the Raiders. Dockstader had 13 kills and Andrea Willgohs and Heidi Strike each had four kills. Strike added five blocks, and Kelsey and Betsy Sorensen combined for eight blocks.
“Our passing improved a lot and we were able to start running our offense,” Torstenson said. That made all the difference in the world. It put them on their heels.”
Northfield (17-10) likely travels to No. 1-seeded Rochester Century on Thursday, Nov. 5.
— Jeff Wald covers local sports. He can be reached at 645-1111 or jwald@northfieldnews.com. |
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