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Lakes volleyball sinks Vikings, 3-2

The Lake Linden Hubbell Lakes celebrate a point well earned in a match against Baraga on Thursday in Lake Linden. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

LAKE LINDEN — While the Baraga Vikings were the better volleyball team for the first two sets of Thursday night’s matchup on the road against the Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes, they were outplayed in the final three sets. The Lakes took all three and won 3-2 (16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-17, and 17-15).

This conference battle was the second of the season between the two rivals, and the outcome was the same with both matches going to five sets.

“I think we beat ourselves. Too many silly mistakes,” said Vikings coach Corey Pietila. “We got down on ourselves and didn’t want to fight.”

That certainly wasn’t the case in the first two sets as the Vikings dominated those sets. After being tied at 11, the Vikings’ Mya Hendrickson served up a run of five, and the Baraga squad led 20-15. Teammate Adrianna Kyllonen kept the rally going for five more points, and the Vikings won the set.

While the Lakes (18-4) led by as much as five at 9-4 in the second set, with Eva Petaja on the service line, they could not keep the lead. It was 11-9 and 16-14 before the Vikings (13-8) tied things at 17 and 18. They took the lead at 20-19 and never looked back.

With Allyson Holley on the line, and Hendrickson putting down the kills, the Vikings kept the Lakes at 19 and went on to score 25.

Hendrickson and Elisa Delene both led the Vikings with 14 kills in the match.

“I told the girls after those first two sets, that if they wanted to win this one, they are going to have to work harder,” said Lakes coach Joslynn Perala. “Energy is everything in this sport, and we did not have it in those first two.”

With a five-point lead at 17-12 in the third set, it looked like Baraga was going to pull off a sweep. However, the Lakes bounced back to tie this set at 18. It was knotted again at 21, 22, 23 before the Lakes etched out the final two points and the set win, forcing a fourth.

Momentum stuck with the Lakes into that set, particularly when Payton Goldsworthy stepped up to the line. Goldsworthy posted a service run of six, and the Lakes led 19-10 before she was finished.

“In set four, we crumbled at their service,” Pietila added.

That five-point lead led to another set win for the Lakes, which forced a tiebreaking fifth.

Again the Lakes opened with leads at 7-3 and 10-8, before the Vikings battled back to tie things at 12. It was a back-and-forth battle with the score tied at 13, 14 and 15.

However, the Lakes dug deep and won the final two points and the match.

“A win is a win,” Perala added, “but this was not our best volleyball.”

Up next

The Lakes will welcome Jeffers to their gym on Monday. The Vikings will play the Bessemer Speedgirls on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at home.

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