File photos/Laurie Johnson The Cook County Vikings defeated the Two Harbors Agates on October 6 and followed up with a first place finish at a tournament in Two Harbors. However, they lost a tough battle against the Esko Eskimos at home on October 8. The Vikings frustrated Esko with their decisive playing. There was much to celebrate in the October 8 home game.
On October 6, the Viking Volleyball team traveled to Two Harbors to take on the Two Harbors Agates. The Vikings played kind of sloppy but were able to pull off a win in four games 25-19, 19-25, 25-14 and 25-18. Leading the way for Cook County at Two Harbors was Brea Boomer with 11 kills and a huge 24 digs and Christina Nelson with 13 kills and 14 digs. Essa Jacobsen had 10 kills. Sammy Jacobsen had 11 digs and Ashley Deschampe added 5 kills and 12 digs. Helping out with set assists were Carly Puch with 18 and Kristina Rude with12. Back at home on October 8, the Vikings hosted a very tough Esko team. The Eskimos are a tough 2A program and have dominated Cook County in the past.
In game one of the match, the Vikings were playing pretty strong ball and jumped out to a five point lead on the Eskimos, but Esko came back to keep the game close. Both teams had great volleys and some awesome spikes. Esko battled back to tie the game at 19 all, then jumped up to a three-point lead. The Vikings battled back and tied the score at 22 all.
Senior Christina Nelson led the Vikings against Esko with 10 kills and 16 digs.
What a battle between the teams! In the end of game one, the Vikings walked off the court with a win and left a stunned Esko team wondering what just happened. In game two, the Vikings started out a bit slow and found themselves behind, but once again came battling back to tie the game at 9 all. Esko called a timeout and their coach was fuming. Returning to the court from the time-out, Esko pulled ahead of the Vikings, but again, those pesky Vikings came back and kept the score close, making Esko work hard for each point they got.
Essa Jacobsen had a couple of great solo blocks against Esko’s 6’1 senior middle-hitter, Kayla Handevidt, who was pounding the ball at the net against the Vikings. Once again there were some exciting volleys, but this time the Vikings came out on the losing end. In game three, the Vikings found themselves down by a bunch of points. Esko was pounding the ball in all the holes on the Vikings’ side of the court. The Vikes were making a comeback, but Esko pulled too far ahead and the Vikings lost game three.
They needed to regroup before heading back out onto the court in a game four. The Vikings came out fighting and jumped out to a four-point lead right away. Esko came back to keep the score close. Again Essa Jacobsen had a few key solo blocks at the net against a very hard-hitting group. TheVikings kept a three-point lead on the Eskimos and Esko called another timeout with their coach very unhappy at what was taking place.
Back out on the court, the Eskimos tried to battle back, but the Vikings kept playing strong. Esko appeared to be a bit frustrated by Cook County’s performance. The Vikings beat Esko in a very exciting game four, bringing things into a fifth and deciding game.
In game five, the Vikings found themselves down by four points right away. Esko stepped things up and totally dominated at the net, hitting the balls in all the holes created by the Vikings. The Vikings lost game five and the match to Esko. The scores were 25-23, 19-25, 13-25, 25-22, and 5-15. Esko’s Kayla Handevidt ended the night with a huge 29 kills against the Vikings. Leading the way for Cook County was Christina Nelson with 10 kills and 16 digs and Brea Boomer with nine kills and 18 digs. Ashley Deschampe had five kills and eight ace serves, Sammy Jacobsen had 13 digs. Essa Jacobsen had four solo blocks and Carly Puch and Kristina Rude had 10 set assists each. On Saturday, October 10, the Viking volleyball team left the school parking lot in the snow
at 5:45 am and traveled back to Two Harbors for some tournament action. Cook County was in pool A along with Eveleth-Gilbert and Duluth Denfeld. In pool B was Two Harbors, Duluth Central, and Proctor. All other the participating schools were 2A, with Cook County being the only 1A school there. In match one, the Vikings played Eveleth-Gilbert. The Vikings played strong and beat Eveleth-Gilbert in two out of three games, 19-25, 25-13, and 15-11. Ashley Deschampe had seven kills in the match. Brea Boomer had four kills and Carly Puch had 10 set assists. Then they played Duluth Denfeld in their pool. Denfeld was a bit tougher than the Vikings thought they would be. Essa Jacobsen sat this match out so she could rest the knee that has been bothering her all season. The Vikings played strong against Denfeld and beat them in two close and exciting games, 25-23 and 27-25. Christina Nelson had seven kills against Denfeld. Ashley Deschampe had five kills and Brea Boomer added three kills. Kristina Rude had eight set assists and Carly Puch added five set assists.
This win put Cook County first in their pool and up against Two Harbors who were the winners in their pool, in the championship match. The Vikings continued to play some tough volleyball and defeated Two Harbors in the match, earning Cook County an impressive first place over 2A schools.
Leading the way in the championship match was Brea Boomer with 14 digs, and Christina Nelson had 7 kills. Essa Jacobsen, back in the lineup, had six kills and Ashley Deschampe added four kills. Carly Puch once again had 12 set assists. Coach Pam Taylor was very pleased at how her team played. She was especially pleased with their performance against Denfeld. She said they kept their cool and went out and beat a tough team.
DIG PINK!
On October 20, the Viking’s volleyball team is hosting a “Dig Pink” fundraising match. October is breast cancer awareness month and the team will be playing against teams made up of teachers, alumni and parents to raise money for this cause. A $2 suggested donation is asked to get in to watch the Varsity take on the other teams.
There will be prizes and gifts from the team to cancer survivors in attendance. The Cook County Booster Club will also have the concession stand open so folks can have some snacks while watching the games. Everyone is invited to come out and have a good time while supporting a good cause. The games start at 6:00 pm and will be held in the varsity gym.
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