The Cook County Vikings headed to the Hill City Volleyball Tournament with the goal to once again take the championship—and they did! The championship team is (L-R, front) Cecilia Olsen, Bekah Laky, Anna Carman, Taylor Ryden, Rachel Wieben. (L-R, back) Sarah Fagerman, Ashley Deschampe, Ali Iverson, Theresa Morrin, Michaela Buchheit, Abbey Sutton.
The Cook County Vikings had a very busy week of volleyball action. Following a home win over Mesabi East Giants on Monday, the Vikings traveled the North Shore three different times on very successful trips.
Vikings dominate Rebels and Bulldogs
The night after taking care of the Giants in three games, the Vikes went to Moose Lake/Willow River to battle with the Class AA Rebels. The Vikings had to work out the kinks in game one, scoring a tough 29-27 win. With the Northeast leader in kills and Ashley “Dish” Deschampe, struggling to hit the ball, the Vikings had to rely on a balanced attack at the net and some great serving and passing to get them through. Theresa Morrin and Rachel Wieben did a great job for the Vikings in the back row, each scrambling to keep plays alive. Eventually, the Vikings pulled away in the next two games, finishing off the Rebels 25-18, 25-7, completing the 3-0 sweep.
The Vikings got a day off before heading back down south for a Section 7A and Polar League matchup against always-solid Carlton. The Bulldogs hadn’t at the time lost to a Northeast opponent, with all their losses coming from teams near the Cities. The Vikings once again took a long time to get loose, losing the first game 22-25. Marita Carlson got Carlton going with a couple of nice kills, while the Viking hitters struggled to get their rhythm.
Taylor Ryden is one of the stalwarts on the Vikings’ great volleyball team this fall. A fine all-around player, Ryden is best noted for her setting. Here she can be seen serving.
Game two featured some nice play in the front row by Bekah Laky and Deschampe, with Laky finishing the night with 21 assists and Deschampe finishing with 15 kills. Ali Iverson stepped up her game over the next three games, too, by adding 9 big kills to the fray. Her biggest contribution, though, may have been with her “mini-jump-serves.” With just a little air under her feet, Ali served 25 times, tallying 4 aces. The Bulldogs really struggled to control the ball and gave the Vikings some great opportunities. The difference in the game, however, was the Vikings’ coverage on the Bulldog attack. The Vikings had five girls in double figures in digs, which really shows the anticipation of the smart Viking players. Morrin led the Vikes with 17 digs, while CeCe Olson, Dish, and Anna Carmen added 12 and Bekah Laky chipped in 11.
The final scores of the last three games show the dominance that the experienced Vikings displayed over the Bulldogs: 25-15, 25-13, 25-16. The win was the first for the Vikings over Carlton in many, many years, as the Bulldogs have provided a bump in the road the last couple of very successful years for the Vikings.
Vikings take Hill City tournament trophy again!
The girls carried the momentum from the Thursday night affair to the Hill City tournament on Saturday. The Vikings won the tournament last year and went there with the same mission and expectations. The Vikes made quick work of Northland, 25-10, 25-20, for the quick two-game win. Senior Michaela Buchheit led the Vikings with a couple of nice kills, Laky did a fantastic job of distributing the ball, and again Iverson rolled with her devastating serve.
The easy win advanced the Vikings to the semifinals to face Polar League foe McGregor. The Mercs are having a fine season and came in with some height at the net. The Vikes did a great job covering the court as those tall girls could tip wherever they wanted, but the speed of the Vikings covered up holes quickly. The big hitters for the Vikes came through as Iverson, Morrin, and Deschampe all hit the ball well to lead them to the 25-22, 25-21 win.
The championship game pitted the Vikings against the North Woods Grizzlies the new co-op of Cook and Orr. The Vikes knew they were in for a battle as the Grizzlies have a very athletic team that is active at the net. The Vikings pulled out a tight win in game one, 25-21, but it was a struggle for both teams to get anything rolling. In the second game, captain Deschampe took the game into her own hands, serving 15 consecutive serves, with 5 aces, to stretch the lead to 22-8. The Grizzlies tried to mount a comeback, but it was too little too late. The Vikes scored a 25-15 win and finished the tournament undefeated, not even losing a game as they repeated as tournament champions.
Coach Pam Taylor was happy with the week of play, which saw the Vikings go 6-0, knock off a tough opponent at Carlton, and a repeat championship in Hill City. She said, “To cap off the week with the win was nice. Everyone played in the tournament and played well.”
Talking about her team’s improvement in the serving department, “Ali’s serves are really coming around, they’re becoming pretty good. And ‘Dish’ just caught fire in that last game. They called a timeout to try to cool her down, but she rattled off about 10 straight after that.”
She wasn’t the only happy Taylor after the weekend, as junior setter Taylor Ryden returned to the team to play and do some fine setting. She shared this about the team’s performance: “It went well. We played okay, although we played to our opponent’s level sometimes. But in the championship game we stepped it up and played awesome. It was fun to be back out there with my teammates and friends and win the tournament.”
The Vikings sure are having a lot of fun, and rightfully so, taking an 8-2 record into a week of action that will see them traveling to Wrenshall and Lakeview Christian. The next home action is a big Oct. 4 game against the Barnum Bombers. Come on out and support the team.
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