The Minnewaska Area volleyball team opened up the Section 6AA Volleyball Tournament with a 25-16, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20 victory at Foley, Thursday night.   The Lakers were seeded 10th while the Falcons were seeded seventh.

“Yes, it was an exciting win last night,” coach Michele Johnson said.  “The team was prepared and played some well-disciplined volleyball.  It was a fun night to coach and watch this team play.”

With the win, the Lakers move on to face second-seeded Pequot Lakes at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 31 at Pequot Lakes.  The Section 6AA Tourney continues Nov. 2 and 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4 with the finals at Sauk Rapids High School.

“Pequot Lakes will be a strong opponent and we need to continue to work on being comfortable in tough situations and battle through with aggressive play and defense,” coach Johnson said.

The Lakers improved to 16-12 overall with the win.  Minnewaska Area finished the WCC schedule this fall with a 7-7 record.

Sauk Centre won this year’s conference title with a 13-1 record, followed by BOLD (11-3), West Central Area and Melrose Area (both 9-5), Minnewaska Area (7-7), Morris Area-CA (5-9), Montevideo (1-13) and Benson (1-13).

Seniors playing in their final high school volleyball postseason are Avery Fier, Haley Shea, Dreya Barsness, Brooklyn Meyer and Miaya Guggisberg.

Waska 3, Foley 1

The Lakers played a great match during the Section 6AA opener, splitting the first two games before taking control and going on to win 25-16, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20.

The Lakers had a team kill percentage of 20 percent and also recorded 85 digs and seven ace-blocks.

Avery Fier, Dreya Barsness and Dacia Fleury were the main offensive weapons for the Lakers, combining for 44 kills with only 15 errors.

Barsness had a team-high 19 kills and 24 percent kill percentage, while Fleury had 13 kills and a 11 percent kill percentage and Fier added 12 kills with a 36 percent kill percentage.

In addition, Haillie Schulz had six kills, Addy Kath had three with no errors and Miaya Guggisberg had one kill.

After splitting the first two games, the Lakers put together one of their best sets of the season in winning game three, 25-16.  During the third game, Minnewaska had 16 kills with only six attack errors.

“We had a good game plan and made the needed adjustments and the players are willing to take in the information and confident enough to apply it,” coach Johnson said.  “I believe the girls are working well as a team and understanding everyone’s efforts are needed in every match for us to be successful, whether you are playing or not.” 

The Lakers did struggle at the service line, going 82-for-93 with five aces.  Top servers were Haley Shea (15-for-15 with an ace), Barsness (19-21-1), Emma Poegel (10-11-0), Brooklyn Noyes (13-15-0) and Schulz (12-14-2).

Minnewaska Area also got 31 set assists from Shea and 19 from Schulz, while Guggisberg and Fier both had a team-high two blocks with Kath and Fleury recording one each, and four Lakers had double digits in digs, including Barsness with 22, Fier with 20, Schulz with 11 and Noyes with 10.

Waska 3, at Foley 1

Minnewaska (16-12) 25 21 25 25

Foley 16 25 16 20

WASKA STATS  (good-attempts-aces):  Serving:  Dreya Barsness 19-21-1, Avery Fier 13-17-1, Brooklyn Noyes 13-15-0, Haley Shea 15-15-1, Haillie Schulz 12-14-2, Emma Poegel 10-11-0 . . . Set assists:  Shea 31, Schulz 19

Hitting:  Barsness 54-59-19, Dacia Fleury 38-46-13, Fier 26-28-12, Schulz 19-23-6, Addy Kath 7-7-3, Miaya Guggisberg 5-6-1, Noyes 1-1-0, Shea 1-1-0 . . . Digs:  Barsness 22, Fier 20, Schulz 11, Noyes 10, Shea 8, Poegel 8, Fleury 6 . . . Blocks (aces):  Guggisberg 2, Fier 2, Kath 1, Fleury 1, Schulz .5, Barsness .5

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