WILLMAR -- Trailing early in a match is nothing new for Willmar, but the Cardinals saw themselves in a sizable hole in the second game. They bounced back and went on to sweep Rocori 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 Thursday to keep pace with Alexandria in the Central Lakes Conference standings.
Willmar (4-1, 10-2) was playing its first match in a week after falling to Alexandria in four games. Alexandria swept Brainerd Thursday to stay on top in the CLC.
Strong play at the net ignited Rocori's fast start in the second game. Four kills from three different players helped Rocori (1-4, 6-8) jump out to a 8-1 lead. But behind the serving of senior Nina Emery, Willmar pulled even at 11-11.
The Spartans made a mini-run to grab a three-point lead, but senior Mary Sussenguth got the Cardinals back in the match. Sussenguth served two aces, notched a kill and made a nice defensive play that set up a kill by sophomore Jamie Wilson, who was returning from a knee injury.
Sussenguth finished with a match-high 11 kills.
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Rocori went ahead 22-21 on an ace serve, but Emery served two more aces and senior Laura Nielsen ended the game with a kill that was just out of reach for the Rocori defense.
"Having a week off was good and bad," said Nielsen. "You would like to get back on the court after a loss like that to Alexandria, but we got time to work on things."
Nielsen had three ace blocks and ended each game with a kill to finish with seven.
"This was our fourth lineup in the past four matches," said Willmar coach Mary Hanson. "Megan Brown played well defensively, picking things up, but we've got to pass better."
Senior setter Kelsey Hanson had 19 assists, 11 digs and was 10-for-10 serving.
Willmar sophomore Greta King had five kills.
Willmar 3, Rocori 0
Rocori (1-4, 6-8) 17 23 19
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Willmar (4-1, 10-2) 25 25 25
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Rocori
Serving: Brittany Schlangen 10-10-0, Sam Pfannenstein 13-14-3, Lois Mueller 11-12-1, Caitlin Griffin 6-6-1, Jenny Weisbrich 9-10-1, Shelly Tippelt 8-8-0 .... Setting (assists): Pfannenstein 7, Weisbrich 4 .... Hitting (kills): Tippelt 7, Schlangen 5, Angie Feldhege 5 .... Blocking (aces): Feldhege 2, Schlangen 2, Griffin 1, Tippelt 1 ... Digs: Brittany Loxtercamp 10, Schlangen 4, Mueller 3
Willmar
Serving: Kelsey Hanson 10-10-1, Jenna Olson 4-4-0, Greta King 4-6-1, Laura Nielsen 17-17-2, Mary Sussenguth 16-19-4, Nina Emery 15-15-4 .... Setting: Hanson 43-44-19, Megan Brown 1-1-0, King 6-6-2, Emery 3-3-1 .... Hitting: Hanson 9-10-2, King 18-23-5, Nielsen 15-17-7, Sussenguth 28-30-11, Jamie Wilson 5-7-3, Emery 7-8-2 .... Blocking (aces): Nielsen 3, King 2, Sussenguth 2, Hanson 1 ... Digs: Hanson 11, Sussenguth 11, Brown 8, King 7, Olson 3, Emery 2, Randiann Sather 2, Nielsen 1, Wilson 1
NEXT -- Willmar: Tuesday at Sartell
