Vikings off to best start in years

Great start for Viking volleyball! Left: Brea Boomer moves to spike the ball set by Kristina Rude, as Cecelia Olson prepares to assist. Above: Chelsea Sorenson readies for the return, but doesn’t need to—Teresa Morrin and Brea Boomer successfully blocked the Cardinal attempt.

The Cook County Viking volleyball team is off to its best start in many years, due to the senior leadership, solid supporting cast, and quickly developing youth. That combination has been lethal for opponents who have failed to matchup with the Vikings’ depth so far this season.

The Vikings made the long journey to Cromwell on September 13 to take on the Cardinals in an alwaysdifficult gym to play in. Cook County teams have had their problems there, where even the wins have been nail biters. This year was a little of the same story, with the Vikings not bringing their A-game, but because of the talent gap, the Vikes escaped with a fairly easy 3-0 win.

The Vikings breezed through their first four matches this year, going 4-0 in that stretch. With accurate setters, quick back row play, and powerful hitters, the Vikes have proven they can be an elite team. If they have a weakness, it might be in their bullpen, as they are struggling to close out matches when they have the win in their sights. Thatwould prove to be a problem on September 16 with the scrappy Moose Lake/Willow River Rebels in town.

 

With the Vikings starting slow, the Rebels jumped out to a quick lead in game one. Nice play by Senior Maddy Adamczak led the Rebels all night, but her on-point setting and aggressive play at the net got the Rebels off to a good start. The Vikings hung around tight enough to make a late push, and trailing 19-21, the juniors stepped up. Bekah Laky deceptively tipped one into a hole and Ashley Deschampe followed up with a massive kill to tie the game and get the Viking Blue Crew crowd into the game. From there it was all over but the crying, with the Vikings pulling away for the first game win.

Game two was similar with the Rebels jumping out to the lead and the Vikings just clawing to stay in it. Behind 13-14, Deschampe toed the serving stripe and went on a roll. She rattled off a bunch of face burners that left the Rebels dizzied and down 21-14. Sophomore Ali Iverson finished the game off with two straight kills to end the game and put the Vikes up 2-0.

The intensity dropped during the third game, as the Vikings seemed to relax and seemed content to just go out and play, without really competing. The Rebels jumped all over the Vikings, getting a quick lead and never looking back. The Vikings had stretches of good play but overall, the Rebels out-hustled the Vikes and pulled the momentum to their side with a 19-25 win.

The Vikings once again started slow and allowed the Rebs to take an early advantage. The girls had to fight their way back into the game but it was too little too late as the Vikings were pushed to a fifth game with a 23-25 loss.

With almost half the crowd leaving after the second game, the gym was a little lighter in numbers, but the Blue Crew got the volume in the gym rocking for an intense decisive game. The Vikings finally grabbed a hold of an early lead but were unable to put away the scrappy Rebels, who seemed to get their hands on every spike. With the Vikings leading 14-13, a spike sailed just long, giving the Rebels new life. After taking the next point, a serve that headed to the corner landed just outside the line and rejuvenated the Vikings. All tied up at 15, the Vikings went to young gun sophomore Theresa Morrin and she delivered with a quick tip to take a lead and when the Rebels misplayed the next point the gym went crazy, celebrating the 17-15 win.

The five-game match was intense but Coach Pam Taylor wasn’t fully pleased that the Vikings couldn’t finish the game out sooner. She knows that come playoff time the girls will have to consistently close out those games to reach their goals. Still, the Vikes are 5-0 and improving, so there is excitement for what the rest of the season will hold for these Vikings.

Cook County
vs. Moose Lake-Willow River