Playoff Out & About: STMA/Alexandria

#5 posting 10.31.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

SECTION 8AAA
Championship
ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE knights 3, ALEXANDRIA cardinals 2
(25-21, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 19-17)

In a Halloween classic, #1 South seed STMA beat #1 North seed Alexandria in a tight thriller/heartbreaker depending on which side of the bleachers you sat. The passion of the fans took on an added emphasis with the Halloween costumes. The fact is I went through a whole clip of photos and then some. I also had to move from my favorite angle on the bleachers due to the overwhelming Cardinal support than continually blocked my view. I perched myself in the end zone for unobstructed views, but photo profiles were sacrificed.

This had all the makings of a classic before it began: #1. Both teams were ranked in the coaches poll---STMA #4; Alex #7; #2 Both teams were ranked in the MaxPreps all state poll---STMA #5; Alex #6. #3. Both teams had two players each that will continue on with their volleyball careers after high school. The electricity was already crackling in the air. Throw in Costumes and the give and take and you come up with memorable volleyball. Rallies lasted longer, with players making digs and keeping the ball alive. With a ticket to state on the line you would expect nothing less than full effort. Both teams did that and more tonight.

Alex had a 2-1 lead in the contest. In the fourth set both teams were tied at 20 before the Knights closed with five straight points. In the fifth set, STMA led 14-10. Alex fought back four straight match points to tie it at 14. STMA had two more chances and didn't close. Alex then had one match point but it wasn't in the Cards for them at 17-16. Katherine Harms had the key side out point to tie at 17 and then served out. Alex was in the net for point 18, and Harms put down her 33rd kill of the night from the back row to make it a good Knight for STMA.

The first set was a back and forth until a 10-3 run by STMA broke the game open. Alex led 13-12 when the Knights started their surge. Alex took two time outs at 16-13 and 22-16 trying to stop the Knight momentum. In both situations it worked. STMA led 24-18 but needed four set points to close out the Cardinals. Harms had 12 points in the first set, including five of the last eight STMA points.

The first set featured four runs by both teams combined. Set two the runs doubled. STMA used the momentum in the first set to get out to a 7-4 run. Harms had three points at that time, but only had one more the rest of the set. Alex got right back into the fray with four straight points of their own. That was the start of a 11-2 Cardinal run to put Alex up 13-9. The pendulum swung back to the Knights as they embarked on a 10-2 run. Alex had to burn two time outs to halt the momentum, one with Alex up 13-12, the other at 19-15 STMA. The pendulum swung back Alex's direction after the second time out. The Cardinals closed with a 10-3 run with five different players putting down kills for Alex. STMA took their first time out at 20 and after the break exchanged three side outs to lead 22-21. The final four Alex points came on a block and kill by Jacque Brown and then two kills by Alicia Montbriand. The series was all tied up.

The theme of set three was a block party. Alexandria had 8 points on blocks in set three as the Knights didn't pierce their defenses. STMA had to resort to tips at times. Alex jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Of the first 9 Cardinal points in set three five came via blocks. STMA did close to 10-9, but Alex responded with a 4-1 run forcing a Knight time out at 14-10. Ariel Carlson delivered two blocks in that sequence. She had four for set three alone. After the time out both teams traded side outs for six serves. STMA had another push of three to cut the margin to 18-16 which forced the first Alex time out. Jacque Brown scored the next two points for Alex on a block (naturally) and a kill. Once again the persistent Knights closed the gap to 23-22 with two straight points by Carly Rothstein on an overpass kill followed by a block. Alex burned their second time out and got a kill from Samantha Dale. That prompted a Knight time out. The final point ended up with STMA in the net. There was jubilation among the Cardinal costumed crazies, with concern emanating from the STMA camp.

STMA broke open set four with a 7-1 sequence which started with two Alex hitting errors. The Cardinals took their first time out at 11-8, but STMA added another point before Alexandria sided out. Side outs ruled the court with 12 straight back and forths. For Alex, Carlson had three of the six FBSO points. For STMA Harms had three of the six Knight side out points. A disputed point stopped the exchange on Katie Brown's serve for the Cardinals. Either it was a back row attack ---a late call---or STMA was in the net. It negated what looked to be a kill by Marie O'Neil. Carlson added a kill after that to tie the contest at 18. Again it was back to the side out exchanges with STMA pulling out 21-20 after a Harms kill. She got the ball on the serve and didn't let go. Alex took their second time out at 22-20, but Harms kept serving right to the finish. Rothstein ended the set with a block and the match was now knotted at four.

Alex got the serve to start the fifth set. O'Neil put down a kill and STMA soon led 3-0. Alex grabbed a 5-3 lead with five straight points, their largest sequence of the night. The Knights were able to tie it up at 6 all on an ace by Harms. Dale put up a block for a Cardinal point. Brittani Wiese got the side out for STMA and Maria Berning put down a kill to tie at at 8. Two Cardinal hitting errors put STMA up 10-9 and forced a Alex time out. Nicole Throngard got a kill to tie at 10 after the break. STMA then ran off four more points, two coming on Alex hitting errors. That put the contest on the brink at 14-10. With their backs to the wall, the Cardinals held off four straight match points. Angela Christianson had a kill and a block for 12 and 13, and Carlson put down a kill to tie it at 14. Both teams then traded four straight side outs. STMA had two more match points in that run, but could close the deal. A hitting error by STMA put Alex one point away from St. Paul, but Harms put an end to those thoughts with a side out kill. She then went to the service line. In sets four and five she had missed three of her last four serves. She didn't miss the next two. Alex was in the net for point 18 and then Harms herself from the back row finished the grueling contest with a kill. STMA is going back to St. Paul for the second straight season, and 8th trip overall.
You can see the humongous STMA vs Alexandria photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com. You might need to hold all calls when viewing these.

More to come

rotation, player, position, aces-blocks-kills--totals
ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE
1. Catherine Yager, 2009, S 3-3-5-----11
2. Lindsay Berning, 2009, DS 2-0-0-----2
2fr: Maria Berning, 2009, OH 0-1-11------12
3. Samantha Dick, 2009, serve 1-0-0-----1
3fr: Marie O'Neil, 2009, MH 0-3.5-2-----5.5
3br: Allie Knutsen, 2009, L
4. Katherine Harms, 2009, RH 2-1.5-33----36.5
5. Brittani Wiese, 2009, OH 0-0-10-----10
6. Allie Knutsen, 2009, L 2-0-0--------2
6fr: Carly Rothstein, 2010, MH 0-2-4----6
totals: 10-11-64------85 points, 28 points on Alex errors

ALEXANDRIA
1. Katie Brown, 2010, S 0-0-2-----2
1fr: Angela Christianson, 2010, RH 0-2-9----11
2. Greta Wood, 2009, DS 2-0-0-----2
2fr: Alicia Montbriand, 2009, OH 0-0-4----4
2fr: Nicole Throngard, 2009, OH 0-0-2----2
3. Ariel Carlson, 2009, MH 3-5-17----25
3br: Valerie Smith, 2009, L
4. Keely Gross, 2010, S 0-0-0-----0
4fr: Jacque Brown, 2010, RH 0-3-7----10
5. Samantha Dale, 2009, OH 0-3-12-----15
6. Valerie Smith, 2009, L 0-0-0----0
6fr: Sam Trumm, 2011, MH 0-5-1----6
6fr: Kaitlin Becker, 2011, MH 0-1-0----1
totals: 5-19-54------78 points; 30 points on STMA errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Katherine Harms rose to the occassion in set five with 8.5 points

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
STMA 37/65 -.569; 113; .752; .259
Alexandria 37/64-.578; 108; .722; .265
Runs 3+: STMA 13, Alex 10
Longest string: STMA 5, Alex 5
Missed Serves: STMA 11, Alex 2
Time Out %: Alex 6/10-.600; STMA 4/7-.571

ROTATIONS
STMA
1. Yager 24-20 .545
2. Berning 20-27 .426
3. Dick 18-22 .450
4. Harms 22-15 .595
5. Wiese 10-15 .400
6. Knutsen 19-9 .679
totals: 113-108 .511

ALEXANDRIA
1. Brown 23-20 .535
2. Wood 26-19 .578
3. Carlson 20-25 .444
4. Gross 14-11 .560
5. Dale 14-19 .424
6. Smith 11-19 .367
totals: 108-113 .489

RACE TO:
Set: 5 10 15 20 25
set 1 S S S S S
set 2 S A S S A
set 3 A A A A A
set 4 A S S S S
set 5 A S S

BIGGEST LEAD
Team 1 2 3 4 5
STMA 6 4 0 5 4
Alex 2 4 5 2 2

Next up: tomorrow

Out & About: Eden Prairie/Alexandria

#8 posting 8.30.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

EDEN PRAIRIE TOURNAMENT
Championship
EDEN PRAIRIE eagles 2, ALEXANDRIA cardinals 0
(25-22, 25-23)

#9AAA Eden Prairie won their own tournament with a narrow two game sweep over #10AAA Alexandria. Katie Froehle had 10 points, all on kills, to lead EP. Both games went down to the wire. The difference was EP made 8 fewer errors than Alex. The Cardinals actually earned three more points during the match, but the mistakes ate that advantage away.

If you look at the "race to" point totals below in game one you will see EP led at every break point, but Alex actually rose from the dead with a eight point run on Samantha Dale's serve after trailing 20-13. EP got the key side out on an Alex hitting error. But the Cards wasn't able to get the FBSO on the next two serves while EP did shut the door on Alex. With the game tied at 22 EP took the next three points, but they were gift wrapped because they were all Alex errors.

Alex took advantage of an early lead with the first three points coming on EP errors. EP did ramp up their FBSO game with 9/10 sequence. EP took their second lead at 18-17. The Eagles may have had a bigger lead, but they ended their own runs with three missed serves in four chances. The Cardinals regained the lead on a fake set by Katie Brown. Taylor Simpson got the side out on a quick kill. That started a four point run that put the Eagles in the driver's seat. EP again struggled from the serving line with two more missed serves. Alex closed to 23-22 after a Dale kill. Katie Froehle returned the ball back to EP with a sideout kill to put the Eagles on the verge at 24-22. Both teams traded side outs with Froehle finishing the day with a kill.

You can see the entire Eden Prairie vs Alexandria photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

rotation, player, (year) position, aces-blocks-kills---totals
EDEN PRAIRIE
1. Claire Willeck (2011) MH 0-0-2---2
1br: Sara Smoot (2009) L
2. Nicole Garbowicz (2009) DS 1-0-0---1
2fr: Kathleen Krause (2010) RH 0-0-1---1
3. Natalie Carlson (2011) OH 0-1-5---6
3br: Jackee Cairncross (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
4. Taylor Simpson (2010) MB 0-0.5-7---7.5
4br: Sara Smoot (2009) L
5. Hayley Buchanan (2009) S 0-0.5-0----0.5
6. Katie Froehle (2010) OH 0-0-10----10
totals: 1-2-25---28 points, 22 points on Alex errors

ALEXANDRIA
1. Katie Brown (2010) S 1-0-3---4
1fr: Angela Christianson (2010) RH 0-0-1---1
2. Greta Wood (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
2fr: Alicia Montbriand (2009) OH 0-0-5----5
3. Ariel Carlson (2009) MH 0-2-3---5
3br: Valerie Smith (2009) L
4. Keely Gross (2010) S 0-0-0----0
4fr: Jacque Brown (2010) RH 0-0-2---2
5. Samantha Dale (2009) OH 2-1-7---10
6. Valerie Smith (2009) L 0-0-0---0
6fr: Sam Trumm (2011) MH 0-0-4---4
totals: 3-3-25---31 points, 14 points on EP errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Katie Froehle

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Eden Prairie 19/28-.679; 50, .560; .311
Alexandria 13/28 .464; 45; .688; .440
Runs 3+: EP 6, Alex 4
Longest string: Alex 8, EP 4
Missed Serves: EP 5, Alex 2
Time Out %: Alex 0/3-.000; EP 0/2-.000

ROTATIONS
EDEN PRAIRIE
1. Willeck 10-9 .526
2. Garbowicz 10-9 .526
3. Carlson 9-6 .600
4. Simpson 9-5 .643
5. Buchanan 7-12 .368
6. Froehle 5-4 .556
totals: 50-45 .526

ALEXANDRIA
1. Brown 11-11 .500
2. Wood 9-9 .500
3. Carlson 6-9 .400
4. Gross 4-8 .333
5. Dale 12-5 .706
6. Smith 4-9 .308
totals: 45-50 .474

RACE TO:
Game: 5 10 15 20 25
game 1 E E E E E
game 2 A E A E E

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2
EP 7 3
Alex 1 3

Next up: tomorrow morning

Out & About: Alexandria/Waconia

#7 posting 8.30.2008
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

EDEN PRAIRIE TOURNAMENT
Semifinals
ALEXANDRIA cardinals 2, WACONIA wildcats 0
(25-16, 25-22)

#10AAA Alexandria moved to the finals of the Eden Prairie tournament with a two game sweep of #7AAA Waconia. Ariel Carlson had 10.5 points to lead Alex. The story of this game was the net play of Alex. The Cards came up with nine points off their blocks. Waconia didn't have a lead in either game, but did make the match interesting in the second game.

Alex used a 4-0 lead at the start of game one and built up that momentum. Carlson started the game with a kill. Alex broke free with a five point run with two blocks from Carlson to make it 14-8. Waconia did take a time out after two straight hitting errors. After that break Carlson came up with her third block of the first game. Alex had a 7-1 run, with only a missed serve marring the scoreboard. Game one ended on an ace by Keely Gross.

The odd fact in game one was Margo Schwartz did not have one kill or point for Waconia. That was rectified in game two with 7 kills. But again it was not in the Cards for the Wildcats. Alex grabbed a 7-2 lead after a four point run, three on Carlson's serve. That forced a Waconia time out. Schwartz answered with a side out kill. Alex maintained their lead and then added to it with a run of three to make it 18-10. At that point Waconia scrambled back in the contest. The Wildcats had a 9-3 run, with two of the Alex points coming on missed Waconia serves. Alex took a time out at 21-17, but Schwartz had added two kills. Alicia Montbriand got the key side out for the Cardinals. Waconia did try to hold off the inevitable with two points to make it 24-22. Sam Trumm finished the match with a kill.

you can see the entire Alexandria vs Waconia photo gallery at kevinanderson.photostockplus.com

rotation, player, (year) position, aces-blocks-kills---totals
ALEXANDRIA
1. Katie Brown (2010) S 0-0-1---1
1fr: Angela Christianson (2010) RH 0-0-1---1
2. Greta Wood (2009) DS 1-0-0----1
2fr: Alicia Montbriand (2009) OH 0-0-4---4
3. Ariel Carlson (2009) MH 0-4.5-6---10.5
3br: Valerie Smith (2009) L
4. Keely Gross (2010) S 1-0-0---1
4fr: Jacque Brown (2010) RH 0-0-1---1
5. Samantha Dale (2009) OH 1-0.5-2---3.5
6. Valerie Smith (2009) L 0-0-0---0
6fr: Sam Trumm (2011) MH 0-3-4---7
totals: 3-9-19---31 points, 19 points on Waconia errors

WACONIA
1. Jessica Rice (2010) MB 0-0.5-0---0.5
2. Emily Willems (2009) DS 0-0-0---0
2frg1: Beth Aeling (2010) RH 0-0.5-000
2frg2: Emily Storms (2009) RH 0-0-1---1
3. Chandra Honebrink (2011) OH 2-0-5---7
4. Dana Noeldner (2011) DS 0-0-0---0
4fr: Margo Schwartz (2009) MB 0-0-7---7
5. Jenna Lester (2009) S 0-0-1---1
6. Kara Pioske (2009) OH 0-0-11---11
totals: 2-1-26----29 points, 9 points on Alexandria errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Ariel Carlson

BY THE NUMBERS
team, fbso/fbso attempts; fbso %; points, % earned; % allowed
Alexandria 15/25-.600; .620; .237
Waconia 11/25-.440; .763; .380
Runs 3+: Alex 6, Waconia 2
Longest string: Alex 5, Waconia 4
Missed Serves: Waconia 6, Alex 2
Time Out %: Waconia 2/3-.667; Alex 1/2-.500

ROTATIONS
ALEXANDRIA
1. Brown 12-8 .600
2. Wood 9-9 .500
3. Carlson 10-7 .588
4. Gross 7-5 .583
5. Dale 4-5 .444
6. Smith 8-4 .667
totals: 50-38 .568

WACONIA
1. Rice 6-9 .400
2. Willems 5-9 .357
3. Honebrink 11-7 .611
4. Noeldner 6-10 .375
5. Lester 5-8 .385
6. Pioske 5-7 .417
totals: 38-50 .432

RACE TO:
Game: 5 10 15 20 25
game 1 A A A A A
game 2 A A A A A

BIGGEST LEAD
Team: 1 2
Alex 10 8
Waconia 0 0

Next up: Eden Prairie Championship

Out & About: Burnsville/Alexandria

#6 posting 9.22.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

APPLE VALLEY TOURNAMENT
9th place
BURNSVILLE blaze 2, ALEXANDRIA cardinals 0
(25-21, 25-21)

Burnsville took 9th place with a 2-0 win over Alexandria. The Blaze trailed 18-16 when they ran off seven straight points on a side out and six service points by Justine Munger. Alex tried to stop the momentum twice in the run with a time out at 18 all and then when Burnsville led 21-18.

In game two Burnsville broke a 10 all tie with four straight points--This time on Thea Deach's serve. Tori Dixon ane Sam Pitzl contributed two points each. Burnsville's biggest lead was 19-13. Alex went on a 4-1 run to force a Blaze time out at 20-17. Alex narrowed it further to 23-21, but a passing error gave the ball back to Burnsville and Pitzl finished off with a serve.

Tori Dixon, a 6-2 sophomore, had six kills as did Pitzl, and Lauren Butler for Burnsville.

photos: #1 Molly Duehn goes up for a slide attack for Burnsville. #2 Tori Dixon (5 Burnsville) blocks Maggie Snyder (9 Alexandria). photos by kja

BURNSVILLE
1. Thea Deach, L 1-0-1----2
1fr Molly Duehn, MH 0-2-2----4
2. Lauren Butler, RH 0-1-6---7
3. Sam Pitzl, OH 2-0.5-6----8.5
4. Tori Dixon, MH 2-1-6---9
5. Justine Munger, S 0-0-1----1
6. Bobbie Meier, OH 0-0.5-5----5.5
totals: 5-5-27---37 points, 13 on Alexandria errors

ALEXANDRIA
1. Maggie Snyder, RH 0-0-2---2
2. Greta Wood, DS 0-0-0----0
2fr Alicia Montbriand, OH 0-0.5-3----3.5
3. Angela Christianson, MH 1-1.5-1----3.5
4. Katie Brown, S, 1-0-1----2
4fr Ari Carlson, RH 0-0-5---5
5. Becca Anderson, DS 1-0-0----1
5fr Nicole Throngard, OH 0-1-4----5
6. Jacque Brown, MH 0-1-4---5
6br Val Smith, L 0-0-0----0
totals: 3-4-20---27 points, 15 points on Burnsville errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Tori Dixon, a presence at the net.

BY THE NUMBERS
Burnsville 15/26; .577; 50 points; .740; .357
Alexandria 14/26; .538; 42 points; .643; .260
3+ Runs: Burnsville 4, Alexandria 4
missed serves: Burnsville 2, Alexandria 2

ROTATIONS:
BURNSVILLE
1. Deach 10-4 .714
2. Butler 7-8 .467
3. Pitzl 10-11 .476
4. Dixon 6-6 .500
5. Munger 10-6 .625
6. Meier 7-7 .500
totals: 50-42 .543

ALEXANDRIA
1. Snyder 5-7 .417
2. Wood 7-11 .389
3. Christianson 11-6 .647
4. Brown 6-10 .375
5. Anderson 6-7 .462
6. Brown/Smith 7-9 .438
totals: 42-50 .457

Next up: Shakopee/Marshall semifinal

Out & About: Eden Prairie/Alexandria

#8 posting 9.1.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

EDEN PRAIRIE eagles 2, ALEXANDRIA cardinals 0
(25-17, 25-20)

Eden Prairie took their own tournament as they beat the only team that had not been beaten in the tournament Alexandria. Again Katie Vohnoutka delivered double digits kills with 13.

EP burst out on Molly Noble's serve with 7 straight service points erasing a 2-1 deficit. Right from the start EP established domination at the net with four blocks in the first 8 points. Jessi Peterson had three of the blocks. Alex weathered the storm with their own run after the side out with four points. Their favored way to avoid the block: the tip. Ariel Carlson had three kills in the 5-0 run. Peterson stopped the run with a side out. EP handcuffed Alex the rest of game one with 10 straight side outs. EP also had a harder time scoring off their serve with only Abby Johnson squeeze a few points off her second time through the rotation. Vohnoutka had six kills and a block after game one.

The side out game was not a strong for either team in game two. EP did lead at the start 9-5. 6-7 Alexa Manuel started off with a block while Vohnoutka added three kills in the mix. Alexandria came back to tie the game at 10. An extremely long rally went to EP after a push kill attempt landed just outside the right back corner. Alex went on a three point run to take a 13-12 lead after that, but all points came via EP errors. EP broke the game open on Peterson's three service points after a side out by Vohnoutka. Vohnoutka had three straight kills to start the run and that sealed the Cardinals fate. The final point was anti climatic on a missed serve.

photos: #1: Alexandria's Valerie Smith gets the ball up. #2 Alex's Ariel Carlson goes up for an attack. photos by kja

EDEN PRAIRIE
1 Sara Smoot, DS 0-0-0----0
1fr Kathleen Krause, OH 0-0-4----4
2 Molly Noble, MH 1-1-3----5
3 Abby Johnson, DS 0-0-0---0
3fr Alexa Manuel, RH 0-2-3----5
4 Jessi Peterson, OH 0-3.5-2----5.5
5 Katie Vohnoutka, MH 0-1.5-13----14.5
5br Rebecca Wade, L 0-0-0-----0
6 Hayley Buchanan, S 0-0-0----0
totals: 1-8-25---34 points, 16 points on Alex errors

ALEXANDRIA
1 Maggie Snyder, S 0-0-2----2
2 Samantha Dale, OH 0-0-2----2
3 Jacque Brown, MH 1-1-0-----2

3br Valerie Smith, L 0-0-0----0
4 Kailynn Strater, DS 0-0-0----0
4fr Angela Christianson, RH 0-0-1----1
5 Greta Wood, DS 1-0-0----1
5fr Alicia Montbriand, OH 0-0-4----4
6 Ariel Carlson, MH 0-1-6----7
totals: 2-2-15----19 points; 18 points on EP errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Vohnoutka again

BY THE NUMBERS
Eden Prairie 15/24, .625; 50; .680; .486
Alexandria 13/24; .542; 37; 514; .320

ROTATIONS
EDEN PRAIRIE
1 Smoot 6-6 .500
2 Noble 13-10 .565
3 Johnson 10-7 .588
4 Peterson 9-4 .692
5 Vohnoutka 7-5 .583
6 Buchanan 4-6 .400
totals: 50-37 .575

ALEXANDRIA
1 Snyder 7-13 .350
2 Dale 10-10 .500
3 Brown 7-9 .438
4 Strater 4-7 .364
5 Wood 5-4 .556
6 Carlson 5-6 .455
totals: 37-50 .425

Next up: tomorrow morning

Out & About: Alexandria/Mayer Lutheran

#7 posting 9.1.2007
your daily dose of girls volleyball news & information

ALEXANDRIA cardinals 2, MAYER LUTHERAN crusaders 0
(25-22, 25-20)

Alexandria topped Mayer Lutheran in two with a tight give in take in game one, and a rush to a large lead in game two.
In game one the score was knotted up at 11 all when Alexandria broke through with three points. Ariel Carlson got the side out and then Kailynn Strater served up two points. Maggie Snyder had an assist and a dump and then a bit later a kill in a 5-1 run. Alex was able to squeeze a point off five straight serves while holding Mayer Lutheran to only five scoring chances in their 17 service chances. Alex's biggest lead was four at 18-14 and 24-20. With two ML points to close the gap to 24-22 Alex took a time out. The tactic worked with a kill by Alicia Montbriand. Montbriand had five kills in the first game.

Mayer Lutheran pushed out to a 3-1 lead and then the roof caved in. The Cardinals added 10 points to their totals to go up 12-3. ML had four hitting errors in the the run. The damage was done however. Both teams settled down in a side out contest with nine straight change of possessions. Alex was able to snap the string on Rebecca Anderson's serve on a ML hitting error. That prompted ML's second time out at 20-9. After the TO ML went on a 9-3 run to close to 23-19. Then it was Alexandria's turn to talk it over. Dale responded with two side out kills for the win.

photo: Malea Noennig pops the ball up for Mayer Lutheran with Dana Schlottmann in the background. photo by kja

ALEXANDRIA
1 Maggie Snyder, S 3-0-3----6
2 Samantha Dale, OH 0-0-8----8
3 Angela Christianson, MH 0-1-4---5
4 Kailynn Strater, DS 0-0-0----0
4fr Ariel Carlson, RH 0-.5-6---6.5
5 Greta Wood, DS 0-0-0----0
5fr Alicia Montbriand, OH 0-1.5-6---7.5
6 Jacque Brown, MH 0-0-0----0
totals 3-3-27----33 points; 17 points on ML errors

MAYER LUTHERAN
1 Malea Noennig, S 1-0-0----1
1fr Allison Strubel, RH 0-0-2----2
2 Kindra Boelke, DS 0-0-1----1
2fr Dana Schlottmann, OH 0-0-4----4
3 Sara Kjos, MH 0-0-2----2
4 Maddie Wickstorm, S 0-0-0----0
4fr Emily Schrupp, RH 0-1-6----7
5 Courtney Kelzer, OH 0-0-5---5
6 Amanda Schrupp, DS 0-0-0----0
6fr Kayla Thom, MH 0-1-1----2
totals: 1-2-21---24 points, 18 points on Alex errors

TRENCH PLAYER
Maggie Snyder

BY THE NUMBERS
Alexandria 19/29, .655; 50; .660; .429
Mayer Lutheran 17/28, .607; 42; .571; .340

ROTATIONS
ALEXANDRIA
1 Snyder 8-9 .471
2 Dale 17-6 .739
3 Christianson 7-6 .538
4 Strater 7-7 .500
5 Wood 5-8 .385
6 Brown 6-6 .500
Totals: 50-42 .543

MAYER LUTHERAN
1 Noennig 9-18 .333
2 Boelke 8-7 .533
3 Kjos 6-6 .500
4 Wickstrom 6-5 .545
5 Kelzer 8-5 .615
6 Schrupp 5-6 .455
totals 42-50 .456

Next up: Eden Prairie vs Alexandria, photos later