By John George
Head coach Dan Christenson has been preparing his team for tough postseason battles all year. And he knew exactly what he was getting his team into when they had to face Fergus Falls in the first round of the 8AAA playoffs. That's why it was no surprise his Yellowjacket team needed five games to get past the Otters last Friday (15-25, 25-19, 25-18, 18-25, 15-10).
"When we were going through seeding, I was telling all the coaches that Fergus Falls was a very good team," Christenson said. He added, "I've been saying since the middle of the season that we have to prepare as if every match is going five games. We can't afford to go into any match thinking we'll be done in three or four games."
The No. 5 seeded Otters got off to a strong start, leading all the way in game one as they cruised to a 10-point win.
ADVERTISEMENT
In game two, it was Perham who came out strong as they built a nine-point lead, only to see the Otters come back and shrink the lead to three points at 20-17. But a kill by Tiff Schoreer stopped the Fergus Falls run and an ace by Mallory Malikowski gave the Jackets some breathing room as they went on to the 25-19 win. Perham built on their momentum to win game three, 25-18, for a 2-1 match lead.
The two teams began game four matching each other point-for-point until the Jackets took a 13-10 lead. From there, Fergus Falls outscored Perham 10-2, largely on the service game of the Otters All-Area player, Samantha Revering. Fergus Falls went on for the 25-18 win to force game five.
"Samantha Revering was awesome," Christenson said. "She was the best player tonight, front row and back row."
After a questionable call helped Fergus Falls to a 6-5 lead in the final game, Perham's Brandi Cresap served the team to victory. The Jackets scored seven straight points with Cresap on the service line, giving the home team a 13-6 lead. A pair of kills by Tiffany Schroeer iced the game, and match, for Perham.
"I was talking to the girls in the huddle that we have to play Perham ball," Schoreer said. "We've beaten Detroit Lakes, we've beaten Bemidji. I knew if we played our game, we'd come out ahead against Fergus Falls."
The sophomore middle hitter led the Jackets with 14 kills. Senior Haley Frost added nine kills and five blocks.
The win set-up a third match of the season against rival, and No. 1 seed, Moorhead. The Spuds have beaten Perham twice already this season. They won 3-0 (25-9, 25-15, 25-17) on Aug. 29, and then beat them 2-0 (25-21, 25-14) on Oct. 14 in the Alexandria Tournament.
"I would think that this (beating Fergus Falls in five games) would toughen us up for the next round," Christenson said. "Historically, the venue will make a difference. We'd rather play them in Moorhead than in Fergus Falls. We've lost to them three straight times in Fergus Falls (2005, 2004, 2003).
ADVERTISEMENT
"We have to be ready at the net," Christenson added. "We have to be ready for everything. We played without Tiff Schroeer in Alexandria, and played them tough. We played very hard. We'll have to play harder this time around."
Although they Jackets have been eliminated from the playoffs each of the past three years by Moorhead, the Jackets are ready for this round.
"I'm looking forward to playing our game, playing hard" Schoreer said. "I want to go there and get some revenge."
Tuesday Update
Moorhead knocks off Yellowjackets in 8AAA quarterfinals
"There's a reason why MOorhead is No. 1 in the Section," commented Perham head coach Dan Christenson after his Yellowjackets were eliminated by the Spuds Tuesday night in the 8AAA quarterfinals, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-22).
A strong effort on the defense from Moorhead, coupled with a strong service game kept Perham from establishing any offense in the first two games.
The Jackets finally got things going in game three, as they used a 7-1 run to tie the game at 19-19. With the score knotted at 22-22, the Spuds put Perham away.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We let down our offense by not passing the ball well," said Christenson, whose team's season ends with a 14-12-2 record. "Our girls have improved so much during the season. They just didn't show it tonight."
Tuesday, October 31
8AAA North Semifinals
#1 Moorhead 3, #4 Perham 0
(25-17, 25-16, 25-22)
Jackets--(Kills-Blocks-Aces)--Kayla Speicher 3-0-2; Mallory Malikowski 2-0-1; Becca Peloquin 1-0-0; Haley Frost 9-0-0; Rachel Pfeffer 1-0-0; Tara Sailer 0-0-3; Tiffany Schroeer 6-0-2;
Assists--Pfeffer 17
Next:
ADVERTISEMENT
11/2 8AAA Sub-Section Finals
11/4 8AAA Championship
