A great season of Viking volleyball came to a close at Hermantown in a hotly contested fivegame face-off against Nashwauk-Keewatin on Wednesday, November 4. Top: The Viking girls, watched by the CCHS Pep Band, prepare to take the court at Hermantown. Above: In one of the many exciting volleys in the playoff game, Brea Boomer and Carly Puch prepare to assist after Ashley Deschampe digs the ball.
On November 4, the Viking volleyball team traveled back to Hermantown to continue Section 7A playoff action. Their opponent was the Spartans from Nashwauk-Keewatin.
Both Sammy Jacobsen and Essa Jacobsen were back in the lineup for this match. Essa got the green light from her doctor to play at just 3:30 that afternoon, just two weeks after having knee surgery.
The Vikings were the home team and the Cook County High School pep band, under the direction of Bill Tormondsen, started things off with the National Anthem.
After player and coach introductions were made, game one began.
Thescore was close throughout game one, as both teams appeared evenly matched. The Vikings led most of the game, but the Spartans came back and tied the score at one point. Essa Jacobsen had some great blocks at the net and Brea Boomer and Christina Nelson hammered the ball at the Spartans. It was an exciting game and the Vikings won a close one, 28-26.
Photos by Randy Spry
In game two, the Vikings started out slow, which is not unusual for them; they usually have one game where they start out slow. However, they found themselves down by a large amount. The Spartans took advantage of some wide-open holes in the center of the court. TheSpartans, led by their senior middle hitters Elizabeth Sletten and Lindsay Kingsbury, had some hard hits.
There were some very good defensive plays by both teams, but the Vikings lost game two 11-25.
In game three, the Vikings came out playing pretty well and went up by four points right away. The Spartans were called twice for being out of rotation on the court, but they came back to tie the score at 18, all.
Once again there were great volleys and great plays all around by both teams. Essa Jacobsen had several quick ones at the net and caught the Spartans off guard on those. Christina Nelson and Ashley Deschampe had some great digs to keep the play alive. The Vikings won game three 25-20, and it was on to game four.
Cook County had an excellent showing of fans including former CCHS superintendent Chuck Futterer. The fans were led by the cheering of the “Blue Crew” made up of many of the CCHS football players, and the pep band played some great music. Thegym was rocking!
In game four, it was an allout battle between the teams, which led to some long exciting volleys. The game was close and the excitement kept fans from both teams on the edges of their seats—or jumping up and down!
The Vikings played very well, but they came up short, losing game four 20-25. This brought on a fifth and deciding game.
The Vikings were down by three points right away, but battled back to tie the score. Once again there were some great plays by both teams, but the Spartans killed the Vikings with some soft tips of the ball into open holes created by the Vikings. The Vikings were not giving up at all and they battled hard, but came up short, losing game five 12-15—a tough loss ending their playoff run.
“The girls played hard and I am pleased with their efforts,” said Coach Pam Taylor, “They did everything I asked of them. I’m proud of this team.”
Leading the team against Nashwauk-Keewatin was Brea Boomer with 8 kills, 16 digs and 5 solo blocks. Christina Nelson had 12 kills and 21 digs. Ashley Deschampe had 12 kills and 19 digs. Essa Jacobsen had 8 kills and 8 solo blocks. Kristina Rude had 15 set assists and 16 digs. Carly Puch added 21 set assists and Sammy Jacobsen played an aggressive game in the libero position and had some great serves.
Four players have been selected to play in the Polar League All Star game, which will be held on Monday, November 16, at 7:00 p.m. at Barnum High School. The four players are seniors, Christina Nelson, Essa Jacobsen, Carly Puch and junior Brea Boomer.
The Vikings ended their season with an overall record of 19-6. Congratulations Vikings on a great season!
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