Gators Win in the Long Haul

by Coach Stacy Dahl

The Gators squeaked out their second 5 set win of the season vs Sacred Heart.  Set one felt much like a warm up game.  Neither team was ripping it up on the court.  Energy was incredibly lacking and feet weren't moving to the ball.  The Gators held off a late Eagle surge to win 25-23.  Set 2 was much more Gator dominated.  The Gator servers did a nice job from the service line to serve the Eagles out of system and keep the ball away from their middle hitter.  Gator hitters were able to find the court to score 11 kills in the set, and several players made outstanding scrappy plays to keep intensity and energy going.  Rachel Peterson did a nice job closing out the set with 5 serves in a row, three of them out of system to win 25-15.  Up 2-0, the Gators needed to keep the pressure on the Eagles, but the Eagles livened up their game.  Their outside hitters were unstoppable and the Gator defense struggled to pick up the ball.  The Gators fell 18-25.  The Gators had their chances late in the set but couldn't capitalize and lost 2-25.  The tell all fifth set went the Gator way as they came out swinging.  Missing the first milestone, the Gators were able to get the next one 10-7 and were able to go the distance.  The Gators continued to strategically serve to take out the middle and found a way to win 15-11.  Nine of their 15 points were earned by kills, aces, or blocks, a nice way to earn the win.


Emily Anderson and Carly Mekash both had 11 kills to lead the charge; Anderson had 2 service aces as well.  Brenna Dallager had another solid night with 8 kills and 23 assists.    Maddi Janicke and Megan Larson had 6 kills each.  Taylor Becker had the hot serving hand with 4 service aces.

The Gators continue to look to make their weaknesses their strengths as they compete against the strong teams of Section 8A.  Excellence is no accident.  It requires a team effort, hard work, and the will the win.  Continue to "strive for excellence" and give your best effort---this is how champions are made.  Goooooo Gators!

Homecoming

 Congratulations to our Homecoming King and Queen candidates...Emily Anderson, Adrianna Horien, Johanna Jacobson, Julia Stenberg, Chase Anderson, Nick Kaml, Trever Robinson and Trevor Undeberg;  our MC's...Megan Larson and Joe Hlucny;  and our attendants for Grade 9...Issie Brockhouse, Emmie Jacobson, Dylan Heggedal and Keegan Rustad;  Grade 10...Montgomery DeZelar, Alecia Berard, Logan Anderson and Tanner Foss;  Grade 11...Caitlin Wahl, Emily Wicklund, Austin Aune and John Langaas.  

Homecoming Dress Up Week is September 28th-October 2nd.  The Homecoming football game is on Friday, October 2nd vs RLCC in MR at 7:00 (this is also Parents Night).  Coronation is on Saturday, October 3rd at 7:30 p.m. followed by the Homecoming Dance.

Homecoming Game in Badger

by Coach John Lee

The Gators played their final game of the season at home in Badger this past Friday night.  The game started with a good return by Dayton Bishop but the Gators offense was forced to punt after a three and out.  The Raiders from Lake Park marched the ball all the way to inside the five yard line but was stopped by a great goal line stand with back to back losses from tackles from Derrick Knutson and Anthony Rinde. The Gators struggled moving the ball most of the first half.  The raiders scored on their second drive of the game following some poor tackling.  A great return by Undeberg and the Gators were 30 yards away from tying the game.   Penalty by the home team on first down for holding set the pace for the drive. On third and thirty the Gators ran a draw to Devin Dostal who picked up a first down but once again the play was called back on a penalty.  The Gators also lost Devin for the rest of the season to injury on the play.  This was the first play of the second quarter.  The teams went into halftime with the score 12-0 following another LPA touchdown.

The Gators played hard in the second half but whenever it appeared they were on the verge of scoring a touchdown the team would turn the ball over or get a big penalty that would stop the drive.  LPA scored on the varsity defense one more time and they finished the game scoring on a long run against the JV defense.  A bright spot for the JV offense was a 28 yard completion from freshman Brandon Pries to sophomore Shaun Waage to end the game.  The Gators will be on the road next Friday as we travel to Fosston to play the greyhounds. 

Gators Pull Out a Win

by Coach Stacy Dahl

 

The Gators held out for a win over a promising LOW team.  It was difficult for the Gators to get into a rhythm in the first set—“Bring it” mentality is a must when teams are on the road.  They didn’t really get strings of points and had a tough time containing the outside attack of LOW.  Several Gator hitters were able to pick up some kills.  Gators were up 22-20 late in the set and left the door wide open for LOW to snatch the win 26-24.  Gator hitters earned some kills early on, but the LOW defense had no trouble picking up soft hits.  The Gators picked up the pace set two and started serving more effectively from the back line to fluster the LOW serve receive.  Megan Larson and Maddi Janicke both had three service aces, and the Gators were able to get their hitters swinging as they received freeballs to get some nice looks with 48% hitting.  They marched to a 25-13 win.  Instead of keeping the pressure on, the Gators backed off during set 3; 23% hitting didn’t really help the cause either as the Bears kept making plays in the back row.  The Bears kept swinging hard and they Gators didn’t pursue the ball and keep it from the floor.  Ministrings were traded back and forth as momentum shifted throughout the set, but the Gators showed some grit and were able to battle back from behind to earn the last 5 points of the set to win 25-23.  The Gators came out strong set 4 and earned 5 of their first nine points.  Both teams got a little sloppy from the serving line with the Gators missing 3 and the Bears missing 5 in the set.  Down the stretch the Gators poured it on.  Emily Anderson had the hot hand and saw the floor scoring 4 kills late in the set to grab the win 25-22.

 

Anderson led the Gator attack with 10 kills, 3 aces, and 11 digs.  Megan Larson had another solid night with 8 kills, 4 aces, and a block; Brenna Dallager also had a rock-solid night with 8 kills, 14 assists, 5 digs, and 3 aces, and Carly Mekash contributed 8 kills, 9 digs and a block.   Alyssa Kilen added 13 assists to the mix.

 

“If it was easy, everyone would do it.  It’s the hard that makes it great.”  Every match has been a stepping stone this season, and the Gators need to continue their journey to be one of the best.  Mental toughness, pinpoint passing, shutting the door, and communication are keys to Gator success.  Volleyball is a game of mistakes, and we need to continue learning and improving.  The more weapons in our arsenal the better.  Attack Mode On!