Warriors put the block on Flyers
WARRIOR VOLLEYBALL
Jared Diem loves the block.
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It's the first thing he coaches when the season starts.
So when the Warriors tallied 26 blocks, leading to a 3-1 Central Lakes Conference win over the Little Falls Flyers Tuesday, few were happier than the second-year head coach.
"There is nothing that disrupts a hitter's psyche more than getting roofed," said Diem. "For me blocking is key to our defense. It always has been and I push it all the time."
Allison Mueller collected 7.5 blocks, Sydnie Mauch added 5.5 and Tess Rahto had five for the Warriors.
Sydnie Mauch (6), Carlie Sweet (3), Tess Rahto (13) and Alanna Hansen (4) celebrated a point during Brainerd's match with Little Falls Tuesday. For more photos go to Spotted@brainerddispatch.com.
Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Brainerd's block baffled Flyers hitters, leading to a 25-15 Game One victory. It was still present in the Warriors' 25-22 Game Two win. The block disappeared in Game Three, which helped the Flyers earn a 25-21 win and kept things close in the decisive Game Four.
"Sydnie had a ton of blocks in one of our rallies and that really helped us out," said Alice Widmark, who also had two blocks. "It helps the back row because if you don't have a block then they can just cream it right in front of us. Our block is there to cover a certain part of the court. We can only cover so much in the back."
Doing a good job of adjusting to the block was the Flyers' Alayna Kabanuk. The sophomore smashed 18 kills to go with five digs.
On the Warriors' side, Mauch added 10 kills, Carlie Sweet pounded down nine and Widmark had seven.
"We were aggressive with our hits," said Widmark. "We went up and we weren't being afraid or being intimidated. We would just go up and we would hit it. They were shorter than us so their blocks couldn't stop us."
The defensive-minded Diem felt the defense set up the offense, but was happy to see the Warriors slamming the ball with energy.
"We had a lot of girls with some big hits and that just sparked our team to see those big hits, but it takes a good pass to make that happen," he said. "Defensively, we were scrappy. We were going after balls out of bounds. We were communicating. We were doing things that we've lacked at the beginning of the season and into this game.
"We talked a lot about it in practice and the girls responded to it."
Sydnie Mauch (6) and Alice Widmark (8) blocked against the Little Falls Flyers. For more photos go to Spotted@brainerddispatch.com. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Alanna Hansen collected 32 set assists and eight digs. Hallsey Olson added 16 digs, Widmark nine and Mueller eight.
Lexi Hirsch posted 24 set assists for the Flyers to go with 11 digs. Jessica Hanowski led the Flyers with 18 digs followed by Paige Saulter's 17 and Alexa Kapsner's 16.
Down 22-20 in Game Four, Diem called a momentum shifting timeout.
"At that point I was just trying to ice their server," said Diem. "I didn't want to go into that Game Five. I wanted to finish it. I think I said 'Seal the deal. Just seal it.'"
And they did.
Little Falls 15 22 25 23
Brainerd 25 25 21 25
Brainerd statistics
Warriors 3, Little Falls 1
Key: Brainerd's 26 blocks set the tone.
Conf: Brd 3-7, LF 3-7
Overall: Brd 8-12, LF 8-16
Next: Brainerd hosts Rocori 7 p.m. Tuesday; Little Falls at Fergus Falls 7 p.m. Tuesday
Hallsey Olson 16 digs
Carlie Sweet 9 kills, 1 ace serve, 4 digs, 4 blocks
Alanna Hansen 32 set assists, 1 kill, 2 ace serves, 8 digs, 2 blocks
Sydnie Mauch 10 kills, 2 digs, 5.5 blocks
Alice Widmark 7 kills, 9 digs, 2 blocks
MiKinzie Hradsky 1 ace serve, 3 digs
Tess Rahto 1 set assists, 4 kills, 3 digs, 5 blocks
Allison Mueller 4 kills, 1 ace serve, 8 digs, 7.5 blocks
Little Falls statistics
Alexa Kapsner 16 digs
Jessica Hanowski 2 kills, 2 set assists, 18 digs
Breanna Arndt 3 kills, 2 ace serves, 2 set assists, 13 digs, 1.5 blocks
Paige Saulter 4 kills, 2 set assists, 17 digs
Lindsay Kapus 2 kills, 1 ace serve, 3 digs
Lexi Hirsch 3 kills, 24 set assists, 11 digs, 0.5 blocks
Alayna Kabanuk 18 kills, 1 ace serves, 5 digs, 1 block
Sierra Hoheisel 1 kill, 1 set assists, 1 dig
JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5856.