Gators vs. Eagles - Volleyball

The Gators fell short in their efforts to beat the Red Lake Falls Eagles October 1. The first set proved to be a battle as the Gators were quick on the draw to reach all of the 5 point milestones in the set and earned 9 out of their first 10 points on their own with aces, kills, and a block. They were in control of their side of the net and finished with a 25-19 victory. Katie Langaas had the hot hand with 5 kills and 1 block just in the first set. Set 2 seemed to be going the Gator way, but the Eagles battled back with a couple solid ropes at the end to pull up 20-17 and then marched to the end. Gator attack and passing errors were costly and they lost 21-25. The Eagles jumped to a quick 4-2 start in the 3^rd set, but Mariah Modahl quickly changed the momentum with a string of serves to help the Gators get the first milestone of the set. The Olson sisters from Red Lake Falls stepped up and had several blocks at the net, causing some difficulty for the Gator attack. This was a close battle all the way to the end of the set as the Gators clawed their way back into it and tied it up 23-22 but weren’t able to close the door, losing 25-27. The Gators needed to battle hard to push to 5 sets in the 4^th and again, struggled to contain the Eagle middle hitters. The set went back and forth early on and the Gators had a nice surge at the end pulling to a one point deficit, but again fell short and lost 21-25. Tori Mekash had a standout defensive game with 66% accuracy on serve receive and 62% accuracy digging as well as 11 kills from the outside.

 

This is a match that easily could have gone either way, but the Gators missed some critical opportunities down the stretch. Aggressive play at the net and a “nothing hits the floor” defensive attitude is critical for Gator success. They will face the Eagles first match of the Frostbite Invitational Saturday, October 6, at Stephen.

Leaders for the Gators were Katie Langaas with 15 kills, 2 blocks, Tori Mekash with 11 kills, 2 aces, and Alyssa Wahl with 8 kills, 2 blocks.

Shanyce Bishop had 23 assists on the evening with 9 assists added by Andrea Burkel.

Kate Howell had 3 service aces from behind the endline.