Left: The Cook County tean strategizes in the huddle. They had a great week, dominating their opponents in regular and tournament play. Above: Brea Boomer looks fierce at the net as the Vikings wrap up the regular season 15-2. This is the best start to a season in CCHS history. The second best season was in 1983, when Brea’s mom, Lori, was a Viking.
The Cook County Vikings have been on a roller coaster ride the last few weeks, playing good at times, not playing well at times, but mostly playing well enough to win. The Vikes hope that this last week of volleyball will be indicative of how they will play the rest of the season though. Domination has become commonplace on the court for Cook County over the last week.
The Vikings welcomed the Johnson young, but quickly improving, halfback, McGregor Mercs to Grand sixth Marais on Thursday night in front of a nice crowd. Ashley “Dish” Deschampe started game one by rattling off nine straight points. She was aided by the nice play of Bekah Laky in the front row, whose setting was pinpoint and also added a couple of kills. The Vikings jumped out to a 12-2 lead and finished off the Mercs by spreading the wealth between Brea Boomer, Dish, Ali Iverson, and Theresa Morrin. Thegame ended the same way it started, with Dish toeing the line and dropping a hammer serve for the 25-7 win.
Staff photos/Laurie Johnson
A seesaw affair ensued as game two unfolded. The Mercs rebounded from the trouncing to pick up their play and give the Vikings a battle. McGregor freshman Gretchen Grams played well at the net to keep the Mercs in the game, getting a big kill to tie the game at 20. But the Vikings smartly went to their senior leader and fed their beast, as Boomer sophomores peeled the paint off the court with a smash that gave the Quaife Vikings a 21-20 lead. Laky stepped to the service line and with some great back-and-forth was volleys that were reminiscent tallied of a pinball wizard; the average.
Vikings finished off the Mercs that 25-20. The decisive play was a yards one-handed save by Laky that Peter Kristina “Rudi” Rude fed on a be wheel to Boomer who demolished the the ball into the heart of next the Mercs defense.
Game three proved to be Boomer as interesting as the second, our with each team holding its set) own but never able to take it a big lead. Senior Chelsey a Sorenson played well in the I out back row, but more importantly position. got in a nice groove him,” serving. With each serve she seemed to gain more confidence and velocity, keeping the squad the Mercs on their heels. The story of the game, though, was Bekah Laky as she dominated the action. She was all over the place, digging Merc hits, shooting soft sets across the horizon, and taking advantage of her hitting chances. Laky and the Vikings were just too much to handle in the end as the Vikings pulled out a 25-21 victory. Fittingly, Laky put the finishing touch on the game with a crosscourt kill.
Boomer led the Vikings with 13 kills and 20 digs, while Dish added 12 kills and Rudi added 12 set assists. Laky led the team with 20 set assists, added 16 digs, and had an unbelievable eight kills in only 12 chances. The win moved their record to 12-2.
The Vikings didn’t take much time off, heading right off to Two Harbors for the annual Agate Tournament on Saturday. The Vikings were slated to play three games and much like they have become accustomed to, won all three to take the championship.
The Vikings quickly took care of the host, winning 25-22, 25-13. It wasn’t the crispest game of the year, but the Vikings played better to close out the second game and were able to pull out the win.
The second game pitted the Class A Vikings against Class AAA Duluth Central (Denfeld). The Vikings had difficulty dealing with the size of the bigger team, but played mentally tough to overcome the physical disadvantage. Boomer really stepped up her game, tallying 10 kills and three blocks, while Morrin stepped up in a big spot to get the Vikings rotated when they were struggling. In the end, it was too much Boomer and the Vikings pulled out an exciting 28-26, 25-23 win to advance to the championship.
In the championship match the Vikings faced off against Class AA Eveleth Gilbert. The pivotal game one went back and forth before the Vikings were able to grab control. Once again, Dish was a difference maker, tallying four service aces enroute to the 25-23 win. The Vikings picked up their play in the second game, dominating the Golden Bears for a quick 25-14 win, giving the Vikings their second tourney championship this season and defending title in the Two Harbors tournament.
The three wins give the Vikings a 15-2 record, the best start to a season in Cook County High School history. The next best start to a season was in 1983, when Brea Boomer’s mom Lori, was a player on the team. The Vikings finish the season with three straight at home before traveling to Esko to take on the top Polar League team. Come out to check out the best volleyball team in school history!
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