Raiders win battle with Madelia

BY STEVE RODEWALD

Journal Sports Writer

NICOLLET -- When the playoffs start, anything can happen.

The Nicollet and Madelia volleyball teams found that out Tuesday night, with the Raiders prevailing 21-25, 25-13, 25-21, 22-25, 15-8 over an improved Blackhawk squad in Section 2A South Volleyball.

"They played well," Nicollet coach Judy Radke said, referring to the Blackhawks. "They mixed things up a bit, using two setters, which made them stronger."

The first game started out in see-saw fashion, with the Blackhawks taking a 7-4 lead. The Raiders came back with Maribeth Vaske serving five straight points with one ace to go ahead.

But the Blackhawks came back with seven straight of their own to take the lead. Led by a couple of nice kills by Cali Hines down the stretch, the Blackhawks put this one away despite some frantic volleys near the end. Both teams did a great job of digging in the game.

Game Two started with the Raiders getting some strong play at the net, turning back many Blackhawk attacks. Abby Olmscheid put together six straight service points, many of which were tough for Madelia to handle. Unforced errors seemed to plague the Blackhawks, as they missed a number of serves and were hitting into the net. The Raiders were never really threatened as they cruised to win the game.

The third chapter of this night started with both team missing on many of their hits. The game was back-and-forth as a result, with many side-outs.

With the score 21-17, Blackhawk coach Becky Schroepfer called a timeout. It worked, as they scored the next three to tie it up and force coach Radke to call a timeout. Olmscheid ended things when she stepped behind the service line for the final three points, including two aces.

A steady onslaught of hits helped the Raiders jump out to an 8-4 lead, led by Klare Swenson and Olmscheid. That lead grew to 14-7 when the Blackhawks got serious. Led by Mary Jacobs and Hines, the Blackhawks took an 18-17 lead. Hines also stepped to the service line and did a great job as well.

Some unforced errors seemed to doom the Raiders in this game.

"We missed some serves in the fourth game, I think we were over 90 percent to that point," Radke said. A couple of Jacobs kills sealed the game for the Blackhawks.

The Raiders came out strong in the deciding game and never looked back. They built a 7-0 lead behind Becky Bernau's serving and good play by the net. The game ended with a decisive ace kill by Olmscheid.

"I was pretty confident, even through game one when we weren't playing real well, because we were still getting points," Radke said. "We settled down, we never panicked."

Swenson led the Raiders with 11 kills and five blocks. Olmscheid finished with seven kills and a good all-around game. Bernau had 14 set assists while Briana Bode had 10. Molly Erdman led in digs with 15, while Kelly Zins, whom Radke said was a big reason for their success on the night, had 14.

"We played well in some of the games," Schroepfer said. "We have four or five starters back for next year."

Jacobs led the Blackhawks with 12 kills and six blocks. Hines had 12 kills and four blocks, while Melissa Tatro had eight kills. Jennie Gappa finished with 16 set assists.

The Raiders (13-11-3) play Sleepy Eye 45 minutes following the first game, which starts at 6 p.m. Monday in St. James. The Blackhawks finish the year 5-21.

Steve Rodewald can be reached at sports@nujournal.com