Raiders sweep division leader

One of the areas of focus for the Central Lakes College Volleyball team this season has been the serving game.

Putting the receiving team in a spot they don't want to be in helps to control a strong offensive attack.

That was the case on Wednesday night as the Raiders swept North Division leader Northland and, in doing so, took over a share of first place with the Pioneers.

Erica Feldewerd led the attack with 12 kills and six ace serves. Jenna Terhaar had 11 kills and Rachel Pfeffer had 28 set assists.

The Raiders won a close first game 25-23, coming from behind after trailing early. With the score 18-15 in favor of Northland, CLC went on a 5-point run to take a 20-18 lead. They then had a lapse and let Northland move back in front 23-21, before scoring the last four points.

CLC 3, Northland 0

The key: The Raiders used a strong serving game to counter the Pioneers' offensive attack.

Division: CLC 8-3, North 8-3

Overall: CLC 12-6, North 16-5

Next: CLC vs. Fond Du Lac at Cloquet noon Friday.

Getting the first-game win was big for the Raiders, but coach Jane Peterson was also frustrated by some of the lapses.

"It's a big game and a crucial win, but I am not going to get too excited," she said. "We didn't play our best though. There were times when we lose focus. I can't figure it out and we can't fix it.

"Winning is what we wanted to do and we did some things well. We served very well and the whole serving game we have been working on a long time. For most of the players, it's a big transition from high school when we are looking to serve to a spot. We teach them to serve to little spots aggressively and you can see that it works."

CLC came right back in the second game with a strong effort and jumped to a commanding 19-5 lead. Freshman Kirstie Grill had a nice serving run of 12 points. Grill also had four ace serves for the match. The Raiders finished off the second game winning 25-13. Grill admitted the coaching that she has been receiving through the season has paid off.

"Coach had been telling me where to put my serves and that is what I tried to do," she said. "I just put the ball where they told me to. It works every time."

The Pioneers came into Wednesday's game with the top two offensive players in the division. Amanda Christianson and Whitney Langen stand in the top two spots with an average of more than 3.5 kills game.

In the first game, Northland got good open looks for kill shots. In Game Two the Raiders started to dominate with good defensive play at the net. Peterson attributes part of that to an aggressive serving game.

"Part of them not having good kill shots was our serving game," she said. "If the serve is in the right place, the setter can't deliver the perfect set. Some of it is being prepared. Knowing what hitters are good and I think some of their hitters are pretty predictable.

"That's another transition from high school. We were are trying to get that in our players' heads that you just can't be up at the net jumping around. You have to know what's coming."

Grill, who had two blocks, also believes the defensive part of the game has improved as the season has gone on.

"In the beginning of the season we weren't a very good blocking team, but coach had us focusing more on blocking and it is coming together really well," she said.

The Raiders started the third game with an 8-1 run, then had some mental lapses that allowed Northland to get back into the game. The Pioneers got as close as 19-17. After that, CLC got back on track and came away with a 25-22 victory.

With a share of the division lead, the Raiders head onto the road for their last three division matches - at Fond Du Lac, Itasca and Rainy River. Those teams have a combined record of 8-20 in division play. Peterson said Wednesday's victory is big, but the next three matches are just as big.

"Itasca's record is not so great but they have lost many games in five games, and they just beat Hibbing, so you can't just show up to play them," she said. "This win won't matter if you give away the other ones."

Central Lakes 25 25 25

Northland 23 13 22

Central Lakes statistics

Kayla Atkinson 2 digs

Rachel Pfeffer 2 kills, 28 set assists, 3 digs

Erica Feldewerd 12 kills, 6 ace serves, 6 digs, 1 block

Elora Meisner 5 kills, 2 blocks

Jenna Terhaar 11 kills, 2 digs, 1 block

Kirstie Grill 2 kills, 4 ace serves, 2 digs, 2 blocks

Christine Malm 1 set assist, 1 dig

Krystle Hamilton 2 ace serves, 8 digs

Kaitlyn Roerick 3 kills, 1 dig