Brainerd ends conference losing streak

Maybe watching part of "Rocky VI" during practice this week helped as the underdog Brainerd Warriors picked up their first Central Lakes Conference volleyball since Sept. 13, 2007, by shutting down visiting St. Cloud Tech 3-0 Thursday night.

Brainerd had lost 21 straight conference matches before Thursday.

The victory was also the first conference win for an excited Warriors head coach Jared Diem.

"It was a special night," Diem said. "I couldn't be happier for my girls and for Brainerd volleyball in general. It's good to get the monkey off our back.

"The keys were a lot of hustle and desire. We were scrappy tonight."

Diem singled out the consistent serving of Trisha Kramer and Alice Widmark.

"We fell behind several times and they kept bringing us back," he said.

Also coming through for the Warriors was Sydnie Mauch, who had 13 kills along with 3.5 blocks. Alanna Hansen had 22 set assists with eight digs and four kills. Teammate Hallsey Olson picked up 21 digs.

St. Cloud Tech 16 23 23

Brainerd 25 25 25

Brainerd statistics

Hallsey Olson 1 ace serve, 21 digs, 1 kill

Alice Widmark 1 ace serve, 6 digs, 5 kills, 1.5 blocks

Carlie Sweet 10 digs, 2 kills, 1.5 blocks

Tess Rahto 2 set assists, 3 kills, 2 blocks

Sydnie Mauch 1 dig, 13 kills, 3.5 blocks

MiKinzie Hradsky 13 digs, 3 kills, .5 block

Allison Mueller 2 digs, 6 kills, 4 blocks

Alanna Hansen 22 set assists, 1 ace serve, 8 digs, 4 kills, 1.5 blocks

Trisha Kramer 7 digs

Conference: Brd 1-3. Overall: Brd 2-3. Next: Brainerd at Bemidji 7 p.m. Tuesday.