The Perham volleyball team came out firing on all cylinders Thursday night, defeating the Pelican Rapids Vikings 3-0. Perham secured its second victory of the season with a 25-23, 25-14, 25-9 victory over the Vikings.
“We played with consistency out there tonight,” said Yellowjackets head coach Nikki Bruns. “It's important to set the tempo off the get go. We lost the tempo a little bit in that first set, but we came back together and controlled things well throughout the rest of the night.”
Perham started the first set with a comfortable 19-12 lead, but the Vikings battled back with a seven point run to tighten things up at 19-19. Both teams went back and forth until the Yellowjackets were able to pull ahead 24-23. They were able to finish the set off with a nice kill. Jaden Hackel got the tempo rolling in the second set immediately, with the first of the 10 Yellowjacket aces on the night. Things just got moving nicely from there.
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“Keeping the tempo is a mental challenge,” said Bruns. “It can be hard to keep things from getting sloppy when you're holding a lead. I thought we did a great job of staying motivated tonight. I hope we can continue to build off that.” Perham jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the second set, but the Vikings attempted to claw back, drawing it as close as 17-12. The yellowjackets sealed the set off with a beautiful kill from Olivia Pilgrim to take a 2-0 lead.
“I thought our back row was on it tonight,” Bruns said. “Our serving was great.” Thiel led the Yellowjackets with three aces, and was a big problem for the Vikings in the third set, as she served the Yellowjackets on a 13 point run to give Perham a 22-4 lead.
The Vikings didn't leave without trying to respond, but Greta Raser ended the night with a kill for the 25-9 set win and for the 3-0 victory.
Sydney Anderson and Mallory Greiff had two aces each, and Maya Richter and Pilgrim had one apiece.
Pilgrim and Lola Pulver led the team in blocks on the night, with a pair each. Thiel also led the team in kills with 11 on the night.
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The Yellowjackets will be traveling to Hawley this weekend for a tournament. “Big tourney with big tests,” said Bruns. “Should be a great opportunity to get some good looks at some different teams in our conference, and to help us get ready for when it's eventually playoff time.”
