Jaguars run past T-Birds

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

REDWOOD FALLS -- During one stretch, the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Thunderbirds had a chance. For several minutes, it looked like the match was turning in their favor.

Then it all just stopped. And the Thunderbirds went back to playing like they had.

Poorly.

The No. 2 seed Renville County West Jaguars rallied from a 9-4 deficit in the second game and went on to decision third-seeded GFW 15-3, 15-11, 15-3 Tuesday night in a Section 3-2A, North Subsection semifinal match.

"We just never got it together," GFW coach Colleen Chambers said. "And that team (RCW), when they start drilling them at you, if you don't have it focused, you can lose it."

RCW will face top-seeded Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the Section 3-2A, North Subsection title match at Southwest State University in Marshall at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Thunderbirds' lack of focus was evident. GFW (24-5) committed hitting error after hitting error. They committed passing error after passing error.

It was a comedy of errors with no humor for the Thunderbirds.

RCW (26-3) did everything it could to give GFW a chance to turn the match in its favor in the second game. After routing the Thunderbirds in the first game, the Jaguars lapsed into their own comedy of errors.

"All year long, we've been doing that," RCW coach Richard Schrupp said. "In game one, we look sharp, then in game two we struggle. Something changes and we relax. It's like we don't take the other team seriously."

GFW senior middle hitter Rebecca Kaukola, who led the Thunderbirds with eight kills, rallied GFW from an early 3-1 deficit with three of her five kills in the game and a block. The Thunderbirds led 9-4 after senior Megan Beltz served up an ace, but it all fell apart.

The Jaguars closed to 9-8, getting points on a pair of GFW violations and two hitting errors. GFW upped its margin to 11-8 on a pair of RCW errors, but the Jaguars rallied to tie the game at 11-all on two more GFW errors.

Katherine Wallenta then served out the game for RCW. The Jaguars got an ace from Wallenta and a soft kill from Katie Eekhoff, and won the game on a pair of violation calls on the Thunderbirds.

"We were starting to look a little better," Chambers said. "We were looking more aggressive. Becca, when she got the ball, she did well with it. It was just a combination of things. We made a lot of unforced errors. We kept making some really dumb mistakes."

But the Jaguars also stopped making mistakes. In GFW's run to its 9-4 advantage, the Jaguars committed three errors and a violation.

RCW also got its serving back on track after missing nine serves in the game.

"It was nice to see how we scrapped back from that," Schrupp said.

The Jaguars went back to dominating the Thunderbirds in the third game, and the Thunderbirds went back to making mistakes. GFW gave RCW six points on errors, but the Jaguars earned the rest as their hitters began finding the holes in the Thunderbirds' defense and decimating the GFW block.

Leading only 4-3, RCW's hitters went to work. Eekhoff racked up four kills in the deciding game and Wallenta added three more.

The Jaguars were balanced. Eekhoff -- a 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter -- led RCW with nine kills, and Wallenta and 6-foot-1 senior middle hitter Jessica Freiborg each added seven kills. Senior Heather Smith added five more kills for the Jaguars.

"They have some nice hitters that come out swinging," Chambers said. "I give them credit. We just didn't have it tonight.

"This team just came out flat. I have a lot of seniors that are very disappointed at the way they performed. They just wanted to play well and we didn't."