Ridgewater second at state; regions next

THIEF RIVER FALLS -- In an intense match between two perennial volleyball powers, Rochester outlasted Ridgerwater in the MCAC state championship match, 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9 on Sunday at Northland College.

"It was an exciting match," said Ridgewater coach Joe Sussenguth. "There's a history there between the teams and the energy level was outstanding."

Rochester rallied to win the final two games, bolting to an 8-3 lead in the final game and never looked back.

"We kind of fell apart a little bit in our serve receive in stretches," said Sussenguth. "And we were what I like to call 'nickel-and-dimed' on some points in that (Rochester) had some hits and a couple of serves that hit the tape and rolled down. But in the final game, we fell victim to one of their jump servers."

Ridgewater went 3-2 in the two-day tournament and now stands 24-9 as it host the Region 13 tournament Friday and Saturday.

Karie Blommel paced the Lady Warriors with 46 kills in the five matches. Jordan Olerud added 39 kills and Carina Fesenmaier notched 162 assists and a team-high 18 ace serves.

Pool Play

Ridgewater 3, Central Lakes 0

Ridgewater 25 25 25

Central Lakes 21 21 21

(Key: good-attempts-aces)

Ridgewater

Serving: Stephanie Tillman 10-12-0, Steph Boulton 10-11-0, Leah Miller 10-10-0, Darcie Listul 11-14-2, Jordan Olerud 6-9-0, Carina Fesenmaier 10-13-2 ... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 26, Miller 2, Tillman 1, Mackenzie Kessler 1 ... Hitting: Tillman 14-15-5, Miller 13-14-6, Listul 1-1-0, Olerud 20-22-5, Fesenmaier 5-6-2, Karie Blommel 22-22-10, Kessler 12-14-5 ... Blocking (aces): Tillman 2, Miller 1, Olerud 1, Fesenmaier 1, Blommel 1 ... Digs: Tillman 5, Boulton 9, Miller 5, Listul 15, Olerud 13, Fesenmaier 4, Blommel 2, Kessler 1

Central Lakes

Statistics not available

Ridgewater 3, Northland 0

Ridgewater 25 26 25

Northland 19 24 23

Ridgewater

Serving: Stephanie Tillman 7-7-0, Steph Boulton 12-12-1, Leah Miller 7-9-1, Darcie Listul 12-12-0, Jordan Olerud 16-17-0, Carina Fesenmaier 12-14-3, Molly Miller 3-3-0 ... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 29, Miller 1 ... Hitting: Tillman 18-19-10, Boulton 0-1-0, L.Miller 11-16-3, Listul 0-1-0, Olerud 18-19-7, Fesenmaier 7-7-4, M.Miller 9-9-3, Blommel 21-23-7, Kessler 8-11-2 ... Blocking (aces): Tillman 1, L.Miller 1, M.Miller 1 ... Digs: Tillman 1, Boulton 3, L.Miller 8, Listul 14, Olerud 11, Fesenmaier 6, Blommel 2

Northland

Statistics not availablr

Fergus Falls 2, Ridgewater 1

Ridgewater 19 22 25

Central Lakes 25 25 20

Ridgewater

Serving: Stephanie Tillman 6-6-0, Steph Boulton 8-9-0, Leah Miller 4-4-0, Emma Koeberl 5-5-0, Jordan Olerud 9-11-0, Carina Fesenmaier 10-14-4, Missy Deal 3-3-0, Milly Miller 7-7-0 ... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 24, Miller 1, Listul 1 ... Hitting: Tillman 7-8-3, Boulton 1-1-0, L.Miller 11-12-7, Koeberl 5-6-1, Olerud 11-1304, Fesenmaier 9-10-5, Deal 4-4-1, M.Miller 5-5-2, Karie Blommel 17-20-5, Mackenzie Kessler 9-12-4 ... Blocking (aces): Kessler 2, Tillman 1, Olerud 1, Fesenmaier 1 ... Digs: Tillman 1, Boulton 6, L.Miller 7, Koeberl 3, Darcie Listul 9, Olerud 6, Fesenmaier 8, Deal 3, Blommel 2

Fergus Falls

Statistics not available

Semifinals

Ridgewater 3, Hibbing 1

Jordan Olerud and Mackenzie Kessler had 12 kills apiece and Karie Blommel 10 for the Lady Warriors, who also aced 11 serves.

Ridgewater 22 25 25 25

Hibbing 25 12 20 21

Ridgewater

Serving: Stephanie Tillman 16-16-2, Steph Boulton 7-7-0, Leah Miller 13-14-2, Darcie Listul 10-12-2, Jordan Olerud 22-24-2, Carina Fesenmaier 13-17-3, Karie Blommel 1-1-0 ... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 43 ... Hitting: Tillman 18-21-8, L.Miller 19-20-7, Olerud 28-31-12, Fesenmaier 7-8-3, Blommel 22-24-10, Mackenzie Kessler 22-26-12 ... Blocking (aces): Tillman 3, L.Miller 4, Fesenmaier 2, Kessler 1 ... Digs: Tillman 4, Boulton 13, L.Miller 10, Listul 10, Olerud 6, Fesenmaier 8, Blommel 3

Hibbing

Statistics not available

Championship

Rochester 3, Ridgewater 2

Blommel had 14 kills, Olerud 11 and Stephanie Tillman eigh to lead Ridgewater. Carina Fesenmaier had 40 assists and five ace serves.

Ridgewater 25 23 25 22 9

Rochester 21 25 22 25 15

Ridgewater

Serving: Stephanie Tillman 17-17-2, Steph Boulton 7-7-0, Leah Miller 15-16-0, Darcie Listul 14-17-3, Jordan Olerud 23-25-4, Fesenmaier 13-15-5 ... Setting (assists): Fesenmaier 40 ... Hitting: Tillman 25-29-8, L.Miller 15-18-7, Olerud 25-28-11, Fesenmaier 6-7-2, Molly Miller 5-5-0, Blommel 28-30-14, Kessler 12-17-5 ... Blocking (aces): L.Miller 2, Fesenmaier 1, M.Miller 1, Kessler 1 ... Digs: Tillman 3, Boulton 8, L.Miller 14, Listul 14, Olerud 12, Fesenmaier 8, Blommel 5

Rochester

Statistics not available