Above: She’s no “bump on a log.” Instead the highly active Meredith Sutton is not only the team’s best front row player, she is also one of the best back row players. Here she gets set to bump the ball, setting up a play. Far right: Ready, set, go! Showing perfect form, Reilly Wahlers made a perfect set-assist to her front line who spiked home a winner on this perfect pass. Right: Emily Jacobsen went up high to put a little “Viking magic” on this ball.
The Vikings traveled to Carlton on Tuesday, October 18 to face their toughest competition of the year, the Polar League’s top team, the Carlton Bulldogs.
CCHS took the first game 25-20, lost the second 25-22, and then stormed back to win the last two games 25-20, 25-19 to take the match 3-1.
With the win, the Vikings upped their regular season record to 14 wins versus two losses. Counting tournament wins, the Vikings’ record is 16-2.
While the team is not ranked in the top 10, currently the Vikings have the sixth-best record of Minnesota’s Class A teams. The win over Carlton could push them back into a top 10 spot.
While no stats were available from the Carlton game, the Vikings have several players who are in the top 50 players in various categories in Class A.
Heading that list is Raina Ryden, the Vikings’ libero. Raina ranks second in Class A with 479 digs. Remember, most teams play more games than the Vikings; so to get into the top 50 is a remarkable achievement.
Meredith Sutton, the Vikings’ talented front row player and the dominant player in the Polar League, has a hitting percentage of .379. That mark places her third in Class A. Sutton is seventh in kills with 297, but her 50.7 percentage of kill attempts is tops in Class A. Sutton is tenth in digs with 365.
Tarin Hanson has recorded 430 set assists on the year to earn the 13th spot for assists in Class A.
Section 7A playoffs begin next week, but just where the Vikings will play is undetermined at this time. Hopefully, the kids will get a home game so their legions of fans can come out and cheer them on one last time at home. If the first game is played in the Duluth area, most of the county will be down there. Last year the Vikings had double/triple the fans at the state playoff game against Carlton than Carlton had. And Carlton is 10 miles from Duluth. Go Vikings!
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