ST. PAUL -- New London-Spicer lost in a state Class AA consolation semifinal to Wadena-Deer Creek 25-20, 25-18, 29-27 Friday at Xcel Energy Center.
The problems that plagued the Wildcats (32-3) in the quarterfinal round Thursday bled into Friday's match: not finding a rhythm and not getting a lot of blocks.
NLS started the match well, building up to a 17-11 lead, but errors led to long Wolverine rallies. Wadena-Deer Creek tied the game at 20, then scored the last five points to set the tone for the rest of the match.
Behind the jump serve of Brittany Noon, the Wolverines took a quick 4-1 lead in the second game. The Wildcats trailed by as many as nine points a couple of times, but junior Karsee Knutson picked a kill each time to halt the skid. NLS got as close as four points twice, but the Wolverines started to show their prowess on defense, rejecting NLS shots. Wadena had four blocks in the second game.
The Wildcats found some life in the final game, but had to battle from behind for most of it. Wadena would go on a three- or four-point run, then NLS would knock the lead down by two or three points.
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NLS saved two straight match points, the last on a kill by senior Karli Wendlandt, which tied the match at 24, Wendlandt saved another match point with a kill, but the Wolverines finished off the match with Noon's 12th kill.
Junior Kelsi Crawford led Wadena with 13 kills. Junior Courtney Volkmann recorded 26 set assists, eighth-grader Hope Theisen had 15 digs and junior Rachel Craig had six total blocks.
Senior Taylor Thompsen and Wendlandt had eight kills apiece for the Wildcats. Knutson added seven kills. Justine Dammermann, another senior, had 21 set assists and Thompsen had 15 digs.
Wadena-Deer Creek 3, New London-Spicer 0
Wadena-Deer Creek 25 25 29
New London-Spicer 20 18 27
(Key: good-attempts-aces)
Wadena-Deer Creek
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Serving: Caitlin Volkmann 10-11-0, Courtney Volkmann 12-13-1, Hope Theisen 12-12-0, Brittney Noon 8-11-1, Kelly DeFoe 1-1-0, Avery Jackson 16-16-0, Mandy Perkins 13-13-1 ... Setting: Caitlin Volkmann 3-3-1, Courtney Volkmann 96-96-26, Noon 4-4-1, Rachael Carlisle 7-7-4 ... Hitting: Kelsi Crawford 23-29-13, Courtney Volkmann 12-13-3, Theisen 1-1-1, Noon 35-42-10, DeFoe 6-10-2, Jackson 1-1-1, Carlisle 25-17-3, Rachel Craig 9-10-2 ... Blocking (total): Crawford 2, Courtney Volkmann 1, Noon 3, DeFoe 3, Carlisle 2, Craig 6 ... Digs: Crawford 3, Courtney Volkmann 9, Noon 9, Perkins 11, Caitlin Volkmann 1, Theisen 15, Jackson 11
New London-Spicer
Serving: Hannah Setterberg 4-6-2, Taylor Thompsen 9-11-0, Jenna Moritz 13-14-2, Justine Dammermann 9-9-1, Cassie Ziemer 8-9-1, Karsee Knutson 12-13-0, Karli Wendlandt 2-5-0 ... Setting: Setterberg 1-1-1, Thompsen 6-6-2, Dammermann 86-86-21, Knutson 24-24-6 ... Hitting: Thompsen 31-40-8, Dammermann 7-11-4, Ziemer 18-23-4, Alanna Dietz 12-15-1, Knutson18-2-7, Wendlandt 18-24-8 ... Blocking (total): Thompsen 4, Dammermann 1, Dietz 1, Wendlandt 1 ... Digs: Setterberg 5, Thompsen 15, Moritz 2, Dammermann 10, Ziemer 9, Dietz 3, Knutson 9, Wendlandt 6
