The Gators struck again at the Frostbite Invitational Tournament. Strong serve receive passing, aggressive offense, and stifling defense were key in most of the matches, but a few lapses and lulls did hinder the Gator attack.
The Gators started the day with a rematch with Red Lake Falls. The Eagles edged out the Gators in the previous meeting, so it was imperative that the Gators play their best to get the upper hand in tournament play. After a 1-7 start, the Gators quickly regrouped and went on the attack. They would battle to an 11-9 edge and not look back in the first set winning 25-16. Set 2 proved to be a little more interesting and precarious. The Gators aggressively ate up the floor with a 14-6 start, but the Eagles would sharpen up their attack and battle back to make it a close set. The Gators would get the win 25-23. Kate Howell must have felt she had something to prove as she ate up the front row with 9 kills, 1 ace block, and 2 service aces from the back line. Andrea Burkel showed her quickness as she got to many balls and had a season high 13 assists. Strong Gator serving and smart net play contributed to the win.
Off to a great start on the day, match two would be a little more problematic. Momentum was all Gators in the first set as strong serving and aggressive front row play would stun the Chargers. The Gators dominated the first set 25-7. The Chargers couldn’t find any sort of rhythm, and Gator sharp shooters from the back service line, kept the Chargers scrambling on serve receive. Set 2 was more interesting as the score changed several times throughout the match; however, the Gators just couldn’t manage the sweep and fell short 20-25. Ashley Schultz played a really nice game front row, and the Gator block just couldn’t slow her down. In the short set, the Gators jumped to a quick 5-2 start. The Chargers had 3 costly service errors, and the Gators were in attack mode toward the end with 5 earned points down the stretch. The Chargers made it interesting with a final surge, but the Gators would close out with a 15-11 win. Alyssa Wahl was the “on fire” Gator with 7 front row kills and 5 solo blocks. Tori Mekash played solidly all the way around and had 6 kills, followed by Kate Howell with another 5. Michele Green also had a couple huge stops on the right side as well as 2 kills. Setter Morgan Anderson commanded the floor with her own season high of 14 assists.
The Gators faced the Freeze for the second time in the season in match 3 of the day. Once the Gators got rolling, it was lopsided in their favour. Again, strong out of system serving was key as the Freeze struggled to get good looks on the attack. The Gators jumped up 15-7 and marched to the end with a 25-14 win. The Freeze rebounded quickly as the Gators knew they would and set 2 was much more suspenseful. The Gators jumped to a 10-5 start and it seemed to be going their way. However, when you give the Freeze an inch, they widen it to a foot. The Gators were up 24-20 and missed the opportunity to shut the door. Tori Davidson was fed every ball to end the set, and the Gator defense just couldn’t stop her. The Gators would let the set slip through their fingers with a 24-26 loss. Momentum was still going the Freeze way in set 3. With a solid Freeze block up every Gator attack, the Gators didn’t swing or move around the block as they should. Strong Freeze serving also caused some Gator struggling. The set was tied 8-8, but costly Gator digging errors and non assertive play would cost the Gators 10-15. Mekash led the charge for the Gators with 10 kills, 2 service aces. Courtney Kirkeide had 2 kills as well as 2 ace blocks. Kate Howell scored 4 kills from the front row, Katie Langaas also chipped in 4 kills and a block, and Green had 3 solid kills from the right side. Serve receive passing wasn’t as accurate against a strong serving Freeze team, but Burkel chased down 10 assists.
Like all good teams do, the Gators rebounded quickly against KCC. These two squads haven’t faced each other yet in the 2012 regular season. The Gators jumped to an early start, but the set would ping pong a back and forth early on. At a 10-7 lead, the Gators went into attack mode again as hitters and blockers really did their job. Aggressive serving was also an asset as the Gators put the Bearcats out of system frequently and the back row passers were able to contain the Bearcat attack as Lexi Dahl and Britta Rynning could never get started. The Gators dictated the set and won 25-16. Set 2 was all Gators as they kept the Bearcats scrambling and out of rhythm. The Gators had many long serving strings in this set and marched to a 25-12 victory. Katie Langaas stepped up this match with 8 kills and 2 blocks. Aunica Novacek and Mariah Modahl were the dynamic duo in the back row and nothing could penetrate their court as each made great saves and passes right to target. Shanyce Bishop hardly had to move to set as the passes were right there and earned 18 assists in the match.
At the end of the day, this brought a rematch for the championship between the Gators and the Freeze. Madison Thompson was unstoppable at the service line as she cast off 10 serves in a row giving the Freeze a decisive 11-0 start. Giving a team such an edge makes it pretty challenging to compete, but the Gators didn’t totally throw in the towel. They tried to shift momentum their way, but the Freeze block and passers were just too tough. It was looking pretty grim 4-21, but the Gators squeaked out a few points in a row to get to 11-22, but they had let the set just run away and lost 12-25. When plan A doesn’t work, you have to figure out plan B. The Gators had a much better showing in the second set and got on the scoreboard right away with a 5-0 start. Early on, the Gators had a few nice ropes, but again, a tough Freeze team would not be denied. They clawed their way right back into the set down the stretch. The Gators were up 22-20, but errors again were costly and the Gators didn’t shut the door, a necessity against a tough, aggressive team. The Gators lost 23-25. Freeze serving, hitting, and digging is top notch, so to compete, any team has to be at the top of their game. Mekash and Langaas led the Gators with 4 kills and 1 block each. Novacek and Modahl both had 2 service aces, and Bishop and Burkel had 6 and 5 assists respectively.
Tournaments have faired very well for the Gators as they found themselves in the championship matches at all three. Overall the Frostbite lived up to its reputation as we had 10-14 inches of snow to contend with; however, it was a great day for volleyball. The Gators really played well throughout the day and showed some nice gains from event the beginning of the season. As they head into the last stretch, they are playing how they should be playing which should prove to be quite interesting as they wrap up regular season play and head into tournament time. It’s volleyball! Anything can happen!
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