Mainstreeters volleyball opens State with the #3 seed and a 7 p.m. match

The three-time Section 6AA champion Sauk Centre Mainstreeters earned a number three seed in the upcoming Class 2A state volleyball tournament that begins this Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

The 31-0 Mainstreeters face 29-2 St. Croix Lutheran (Section 4AA champion) in the state quarterfinals beginning at 7 p.m. The other 7 p.m. match in Class 2A that night features #2-seed Caledonia (Section 1AA champion, 25-6) against unseeded Maple Lake (Section 5AA champion, 19-11).

If the Mainstreeters win their opener, they play again at 7 p.m. the following night (Friday); if they lose they play in the consolation semifinals at 5 p.m. that night.

Marshall Area is the number one seed; Belle Plaine/Holy Family Academy is the number four seed, and Thief River Falls is the number five seed.

Streeters stay unbeaten! Advance to third straight state tourney

Another Section title for the Streeters!

After a close two games with Dassel-Cokato in the section finals this afternoon, the Mainstreeters proved why they have remained unbeaten all year and why they deserve to make their third straight appearance at the state volleyball tournament next weekend in St. Paul.

Sauk won a close battle 25-23 in game one, but lost game two 30-28 despite making a miraculous comeback.  In the end, though, they won games three and four handily to win the match and send them back to state.

The Streeters fell behind early to a high-energy Dassel-Cokato squad. The Chargers staked themselves to a quick 5-1 lead and had the Streeters on their heals early. Three kills by senior outside hitter Ashley Kollman and a Kollman ace serve got the Streeters back in it. Trailing 12-9, senior middle hitter Brianna VonWahlde had one of her seven kills on the day and Macy Weller added another as Sauk tied the game at 13-13. The teams seesawed back and fort, trading leads until the Chargers led 22-21 when a long serve made it a tie game at 22-22. A long volley followed as Sauk went to their star hitter in Weller, who continued to pound the ball, but couldn’t get it past a stingy Chargers defense. Finally, on her fourth set from Jena Klaphake, Weller got one down for a 23-22 lead. Klaphake followed with an ace serve and then after the Tigers scored a point, Sauk went to a basic bump, set, spike to Weller for the game-winning shot.

Game two was much of the same as the teams battled point for point early until the Chargers started to pull away late. Sauk never led by more than a point when the Chargers went on an 8-1 run for a 22-16 lead. They eventually led 24-17, but Sauk didn’t give in. With Weller returning to the front row, the team once again looked to their senior to get them back into it. Weller notched two kills and also served up an ace block. Katie Reitsma chipped in an ace serve and Sauk took advantage of a couple Charger miscues to tie the game at 24-24. After the Chargers scored Weller recorded another kill and followed with an ace block for a chance to ice the game. But the Chargers wouldn’t lay down and eventually won the game 30-28.

Despite the Chargers holding the momentum heading into game three, it was all Streeters. Weller picked up where she left off with three kills to start the game as Sauk staked themselves to a 4-0 lead. Weller would have six kills in the game  and Kollman would add two kills and two ace serves as the Streeters coasted to a 25-10 win.

By this time it was clear that the wind had been taken out of the Chargers’ sails as Sauk proved why they are the only unbeaten team in Class AA in the state with a convincing 25-7 win in game four.

Weller finished with an astonishing 32 kills to lead the Streeters.

“It feels amazing for our senior class,” she said of making their third straight trip to state.  “This is what we’ve been shooting for all year. It feels great.”

Seedings will be determined Sunday so Sauk does not know who they play yet, but chances are they will get a top four seed. No matter who they play they will battle Thursday at the Excel Energy Center at either 5 p.m. or 7 p.m.

Stay tuned to the Streeter Sports Blog for updates and also look for plenty of coverage on the season so far and the upcoming state tournament in this week’s Sauk Centre Herald.

You can tell things were going well for the Streeters by the look on their faces, and the looks on the faces of Tiger fans behind.

Brianna VonWahlde and Kendra Zenzen get pumped after a VonWahlde kill.

Becca Moe sets to a hitter in Saturday's game. Moe has seen ample playing time down the stretch for the Streeters.

Jordan Gamradt doesn't get the glory that some of the big hitters do, but she is one of the team's best servers and a backrow specialist.

Libero Katie Reitsma bumps one tot he front row.

Reitsma was stellar in the back row with many big digs in Saturday's game.

The Streeters head into state with a 31-0 record.

Jena Klaphake with one of her dozens of sets on the day.

Video from last night's sub-section championship match

Sauk Centre vs. Albany! Macy Weller tips around a block in game three.

Video by Herman Lensing

Streeters top Albany, advance to section final

The Mainstreeters huddle up and celebrate following their sweep of Albany tonight in Sauk Rapids. 
PHOTOS SUBMITTED

You bet they were fired up tonight against Albany!

The Mainstreeters volleyball team made it 30 wins in a row with a 3-0 victory over Albany Thursday night in Sauk Rapids.

The Streeters won 25-23, 25-19 and 25-21 in three closely contested games.

The win pits them against the winner of Litchfield and Dassel-Cokato for Saturday's section final at 2 p.m. at St. Ben's University and a chance to make their third straight trip to the Class 2A state tournament.

As of 10:06 p.m., results were not available from that other sub-section final match.

Sub-section title match is at Sauk Rapids

Sauk Centre and Albany face off in the sub-section volleyball championship at 6 p.m. at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School tomorrow night. (Nov. 1)

It was stated in the Sauk Herald in today's issue that the match is in Rocori, which is where the semifinal match was held. We apologize for the mix-up.

The Section 6AA final is this Saturday at St. Ben's University. No need to think about that yet, though, as Sauk Centre will have their hands full tonight with an Albany team who hasn't defeated the Mainstreeters in the volleyball playoffs this century.

For the Mainstreeters, let's hope that streak continues!

Eight volleyball sub-section final appearances!

The Mainstreeters celebrate earning a point tonight against Melrose Area. PHOTO SUBMITTED

That's how many in a row the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters have cooked up following their 3-0 win over Melrose Area tonight in the Sub-Section 6AA-North semifinals.

After relatively drama-free wins in games one and two, the Mainstreeters had their hands full in game three. Melrose Area built a 17-10 lead and looked like they were on their way to forcing a fourth set when Sauk Centre mounted an incredible comeback.

Down 24-22, Macy Weller fired off two kills to tie it up. The Dutchmen committed two errors, including a hit going long at the end, to tip the scale in favor of Sauk Centre by a 26-24 final score.

The 29-0 Mainstreeters face Albany on Thursday in Sauk Rapids for the sub-section title at 6 p.m. The Huskies beat Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 3-0 in the other semifinal.

Mainstreeters girls' swimming and diving takes runner-up honors at conference meet

Below is a video clip from the final leg of the 200 freestyle relay race at the West Central Conference meet in Morris today...the Mainstreeters emerged as conference champions in this event. Video by Herman Lensing, Melrose Beacon

200 FSR relay team members who earned the West Central Conference championship include Danielle Banal, Alyssa Kohorst, Sarah Nelson and Tiana Molitor. They finished with a time of 1:45.94 and edged a more-experienced unit from Melrose Area by 1.2 seconds.

A few other top performances by Sauk Centre athletes include: Tiana Molitor earned second place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:07.49; Kendyl Tullis earned second place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:07.8; and the 400 freestyle relay team of Banal, Kohorst, Sarah Nelson and Molitor earned second place with a time of 3:56.58.

More coverage will follow in the Nov. 1 issue of the Sauk Centre Herald.

2012 West Central Conference girls' swimming and diving meet standings and points:
1st - Melrose Area 728
2nd - Sauk Centre 522
3rd - Montevideo 316
4th - Holdingford 311
5th - Minnewaska Area/Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 302