The Minnewaska Area volleyball team ended the season with a 25-14, 25-17, 25-15 loss at Pequot Lakes during the quarterfinal round of the Section 6AA Volleyball Tourney last Tuesday night.

The Lakers, who were seeded 10th, defeated seventh-seeded Foley in the opener in four games before losing to the second-seeded Pequot Lakes team.

It was only the third three-game sweep of the Lakers this season.  West Central Area beat the Lakers in three games during the fourth match of the season and Sauk Centre also won in a three-game sweep midway through the season.

Pequot Lakes went on to beat third-seeded Sauk Centre in the semifinals, while top-seeded Albany defeated fourth-seeded Melrose Area in the other semifinal.  In the championship, Pequot Lakes edged Albany in four games 

Minnewaska Area ended the season with an overall record of 16-13, which included a 7-7 mark in the WCC.

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 who will be lost to graduation from this year’s volleyball team are Avery Fier, Haley Shea, Dreya Barsness, Brooklyn Meyer and Miaya Guggisberg.  Coaching the Lakers this year were Michele Johnson, Bailey Gronner, Kari Nelson and Jacalyn Skoglund.

“Pequot was a very good team and it wasn’t our night, unfortunately,” coach Michele Johnson said.  “The seniors will be missed not only for their leadership but for the little things they have done for the team like making sure the underclassmen felt welcomed and a strong part of the team, communicating and planting the seed of their passion for the game of volleyball.”

Pequot Lakes 3, Waska 1

The Lakers struggled during the Section 6AA quarterfinal match at Pequot Lakes last Tuesday night, losing in three quick games that lasted just over an hour, 25-14, 25-17, 25-15.

Serving was a troublespot as the Lakers made just 79 percent of their serves with two aces; one each by Emma Poegel and Haillie Schulz.  In addition, it was also the first match all season where the Lakers did not record a block.

“Yes, it was not our best night serving and when you play a tough opponent like Pequot, you can not give up the easy ones,” coach Johnson said.  “On the positive side, the players never stopped working even when they couldn’t get into a flow.” 

Pequot Lakes raced out to a 9-0 lead in the first game and led 21-8 late before settling for the 25-14 victory.

The second game was the best for the Lakers, but Pequot Lakes used a big run midway through the game to win again 25-17 and, in the last game, it was all Patriots again as Pequot Lakes won 25-15 to complete the sweep.

Pequot Lakes, which plays in the Granite Ridge Conference, improved to 25-5 overall with the win.  The only losses for the team were to Albany (3-2), Belle Plaine (2-1), Delano (2-0), Albany again (3-0) and Hawley (2-1). Hawley finished 23-5 this season, while Albany is 25-3, BP is 19-7 and Delano is 27-2.

The Lakers had a team kill percentage of 14 percent with 25 kills and 12 errors.  Dreya Barsness led the Lakers with 13 kills, but no other player had more than five. Haillie Schulz was next with five kills, while Dacia Fleury had four and Avery Fier had three.

Defensively, Minnewaska didn’t have any blocks, but the Lakers did have 36 digs, including 10 from Barsness, nine from Fier and seven more from Haley Shea, who also led the Lakers with 14 set assists, including the 2,000th set of her career.  “We’re happy for Haley as she accomplished a huge goal by completing her career with 2,000 sets,” coach Johnson said.  “Overall, it was a great season.”

at Pequot Lakes 3, Waska 1

Minnewaska (16-13) 14 17 15

Pequot Lakes (25-5) 25 25 25

WASKA STATS  (good-attempts-aces):  Serving (aces):   Emma Poegel 1, Haillie Schulz 1 . . . Set assists:  Haley Shea 14, Schulz 10

Hitting:  Dreya Barsness 28-35-13, Schulz 17-18-5, Dacia Fleury 10-13-4, Avery Fier 15-16-3, Poegel 3-3-0, Shea 3-3-0, Addy Kath 2-2-0, Miaya Guggisberg 1-1-0 . . . Digs:  Barsness 10, Fier 9, Shea 7, Poegel 5, Kath 3, Brooklyn Noyes 1, Schulz 1. . . Blocks (aces):  None

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