Perham beats pair of section rivals

By news@perhamfocus.com

September 02, 2008 at 11:00 PM

By John George

Fans who filled Perham's Prairie Wind Gymnasium Thursday night were treated to an exciting, and well played volleyball match. Fortunately for the hometown fans, the Perham Yellowjackets held off Wadena-Deer Creek to win, 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 25-1, 20-25, 17-15).

W-DC cruised to a win in game one, but game two was much closer. The Wolverines finally broke open a 18-18 game and scored four-straight for a 22-18 lead.

They led 24-22 with a game point to go up two matches to none when Perham struck back. With Rachel Pfeffer serving, Perham scored twice to tie the game, 24-24. A front line block by Mallory Malikowski set up game point for Perham, and with another block at the net, this time by Tiffany Schroeer, Perham had a 26-24 win to tie the match.

The Jackets went ahead in game three with a late scoring run. With the game tied, 16-16, Perham outscored W-DC 9-2 down the stretch to go up 2-1 in the match.

W-DC evened things up in game four, 25-20, forcing a fifth game.

W-DC took he early lead in game five, going up 4-2. A pair of kills by Malikowski and an ace by Schroeer put Perham back in control, 6-4, but the Wolverines quickly retied the match and the tension set in.

The two teams traded points until the game was tied, 15-15. Wadena had the serve, but a kill by Elisa Moenkedick gave Perham a 16-15 lead and match points. The Jackets finally put the game and match away on an unforced error by W-DC.

"I?predicted this match would go five, and I?told the girls to be prepared to go five," Perham head coach Dan Christenson said. "I told them not to get to down after poor plays or lost games, and not to get to high after good plays. Be prepared for the long haul."

The win gives Perham tremendous confidence, knowing that Wadena-Deer Creek is one of, if not the best team in Section 8AA.

"This was a team win," Christenson said. "Everyone contributed and we didn't fold under the pressure when we had some game points go against us. This win is a huge step for us."

Perham was once again accurate with their serves, going 62-for-71 from the service line. Tara Sailer and Mallory Malikowski combined to go 25-for-25 from the line.

Eden Prairie

Perham went 2-2 at the prestigious Eden Prairie Tournament last weekend.

The Yellow Jackets opened with a 2-0 loss to the host Eagles (25-16, 25-19). In the second round, they fell to Litchfield, 2-0 (25-12, 25-18).

Perham was able to get back on track in their third game, a 2-0 win over St. Peter (25-13, 25-11). They kept on winning in their final match of the tournament, a 2-0 win over No. 15-AAA Minneapolis Southwest (25-20, 25-12).

Road win

The Jackets took on Section rival Detroit Lakes Tuesday night and came away with an important 3-1 win on the road (25-17, 25-8, 23-25, 25-19).

Up ahead

The Lady Jackets will return home tonight (Sept. 4) to host Ulen-Hitterdal. First match at Prairie Wind Gymnaisum will be at 7:30 p.m.

The Spartans were 10-14 overall last year, 6-5 in the HOL?(5th Place). Perham won last year's match, 3-0.

The Yellow Jackets will get a full week off after the U-H game before traveling to Lake Park-Audubon on Sept. 11.

Thursday, august 28

Perham 3, Wadena-Deer Creek 2

(18-25, 26-24, 25-18, 20-25, 17-15)

Jackets--(Kills-Digs-Blocks)--Keli Meehl (2-15-0), Rachel Pfeffer (4-16-2), Julie Wierbos (2-6-0), Chelsey Olson (0-3-0), Katrina Moenkedick (0-2-0), Emily Rutten (6-14-1), Mallory Malikowski (12-23-2), Kaylan Huber (0-5-0), Tara Sailer (0-35-0), Tiffany Schroeer (9-4-2), Elisa Moenkedick (5-4-3)

Assists--Pfeffer 17, Malikowski 14, Meehl 1, K. Moenkedick 1, Schroeer 1, E. Moenkedick 1)

Aces--K. Moenkedick 1, Malikowski 1, Schroeer 1, Meehl 1

Saturday, August 30

Eden Prairie Tournament

Eden Prairie 20, Perham 0

(25-16, 25-19)

Litchfield 2, Perham 0

(25-12, 25-18)

Perham 2, St. Peter 0

(25-13, 25-11)

Perham 2, Minneapolis Southwest 0

(25-20, 25-12)