Valley City (N.D.) State needed four sets to post a 21-25, 25-22, 25-13, 25-20 win over Presentation College in college volleyball action on Saturday.
The Saints jumped out to a four-point lead in the first set, but the Vikings grabbed the lead back at 12-10. Starting with an ace serve by Haley Boisjolie, the Saints rallied to win the first set.
"Right off the bat, we started passing very well out of serve receive," said PC coach Chelsey Albrecht. "We made big plays right away and it gave us some momentum."
The second set was tied at 19-all, but Valley City outscored Presentation 6-3 to tie the match at one set each.
"We had our chances toward the end and it came down to a couple of missed serves. Both teams missed serves, but it was the timing of our missed serves and our errors," said Albrecht.
The Vikings swept the last two sets to win the match.
"In the third set, we let them go on a little bit of a run. In the fourth set, we got down quite a bit and challenged ourselves to push back. Kelsey Schmidt went back to serve and took us on a little bit of a run. We were down too many, but we fought to the end," said Albrecht.
The Saints connected on 41 kills in the match and 50 digs. Megan Goedert and Karly Fuhrman hit double figures with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Mo Bunney and Boisjolie were credited with a dozen digs each and Tina Boldt added 10. Mo Bunney and Carly Peterson handed out 16 set assists each.
"Karly Fuhrman had a really nice match for us with 10 kills and five block assists," said Albrecht. "She played so hard and had a great afternoon for us. It's fun for us to see her grow as a middle (hitter) this year."
Presentation finishes the season with four road matches, including one on Tuesday against Dakota State at 7 p.m. at Madison. The Saints honored their three seniors, Schmidt, Boldt and Kelli Boekelheide, before the Valley City match.
"Each of them has a different quality," said Albrecht about her seniors. "Kelli is a quiet leader and leads by example. She came in and was effective for us at the net and playing right side this year. Tina anchors our team with her communication. She knows the game well and sees it. Her leadership will be missed. Kelsey was one of the first players to play four years since I've been at PC. She has invested a lot of time and has bought in to the program. They each bring something unique to the program."
Serving: Valley City 5 aces (Emily Plowman 2 aces); Presentation 5 aces.
Hitting: Valley City 122-145 60 kills (Jill Noeske 30-38 16 kills, Gianesi Tarafa 24-26 14 kills, Aurissa Martens 26-29 11 kills); Presentation 124-140 41 kills (Megan Goedert 33-38 11 kills, Karly Fuhrman 20-23 10 kills, Kelli Boekelheide 22-24 8 kills).
Setting: Valley City 58 assists (Stephanie Miller 28 assists, Rachel Hummel 15 assists, Anna Neufeld 12 assists); Presentation 38 assists (Carly Peterson 16 assists, Mo Bunney 16 assists).
Digs: Valley City 66 (Plowman 21, Neufeld 12); Presentation 50 (Bunney 12, Haley Boisjolie 12, Tina Boldt 11).
Blocks: Valley City 12 assists (Hummel 4 assists, Tarafa 3 assists); Presentation 10 assists (Fuhrman 5 assists).
Records: Valley City State 8-18; Presentation College 3-19.