Meredith Sutton (No. 5) tracked the ball with her eyes while Emily Jacobsen seemingly bent gravity to make the play on the volleyball. Both Sutton and Jacobsen play the front row for the Vikings but each is adept at setting up her teammates with a nice bump.
Averaging about four games per week—with many of those contests away—the Cook County High School Viking volleyball team has been very busy. This past week the team spent 23 hours and 30 minutes on a school bus traveling to and from games, said Head Coach Pam Taylor.
“It takes a lot out of us,” Taylor said, noting two of her players, Hanna Borson and Hannah Toftey were both sick for practice on Monday, September 19.
Up first for the Vikes was a trip to Moose Lake on September 15 where they defeated the Moose Lake/ Willow River Rebels 26-24, 25-17, 25-19 to sweep the Rebels in three straight games.
On Saturday, September 17 the Vikings traveled to Hill City to play in the Hill City tournament.
“We beat Northland 25-13, 25-7 and Bagley 25-5, 25-18 before losing to Hill City in three games. We won the first game 25-17, lost 25-14 and then played a great last game, just falling short 18-16,” Coach Taylor said.
Reilly Wahlers went up high to make this kill in a recent home game. Wahler’s play at the net is improving rapidly, and it gives the Vikings another option to run their offensive plays through, said Head Coach Pam Taylor.
“Overall I was really pleased with how the kids played. We ended up third in the tournament. The girls were upbeat, moved their feet and talked on the court. There’s a few things we need to work on, but we are steadily improving and we are getting more comfortable in our rotations and serving well.”
Junior outside hitter Meredith Sutton has been leading the way for her teammates. According to the Polar League stats, Sutton has recorded 84 kills, 151 digs, and nine serving aces while Tarin Hanson leads the team in set assists with 133. Raina Ryden leads in digs with 171, and Emily Jacobsen leads in blocks with 9 and is tied in ace serves with Sutton at 9 and is second with 38 kills.
Meanwhile Taylor said Alyssa Lashinski (32 kills) and Reilly Wahlers (15 kills) are both coming on strong at the net, pushing Sutton for kills.
On Tuesday, September 20 the Vikings traveled to Silver Bay—their only road trip of the week—and beat the Mariners 17-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-20 to take the match three games to one and up their overall record to 9-3.
Meredith Sutton finished with 24 digs and 23 kills while Tarin Hanson had 41 set assists and Emily Jacobsen 16 kills for the Vikings. Kayla Klofstad led Silver Bay with 16 kills and 11 digs.
The Vikings sit in third place behind Carlton and Esko in the Polar League Conference with a 3-1 conference mark.
The Vikings’ next home game is September 26 against the Wrenshall Wrens. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. Come out and cheer on your Vikings!
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