Huskies Give Tigers a Fight

The season ended for the Owatonna High School volleyball team Wednesday, but they put up a good fight at Farmington before bowing out of the Section 1AAA tournament 3-1 as the Tigers won 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 25-20. It was the final prep match for seniors Brynn Butler, Anna Vetsch, Kaitlyn Madole, Ruth Livingston, Kallen Hoffman, and Emma Loveless.

The match stretched past 90 minutes as the teams exchanged great digs and saves throughout the night. Big kills and tips, blocks and ace serves swung the momentum back and forth. Several long rallies highlighted the night. OHS closed their season on a positive note.

The seventh-seeded Tigers surged to a 16-9 lead in the opening set. Owatonna battled back to tie the set at 21-21, but Farmington scored the final four points to win it 25-21.

Owatonna built a six-point lead midway through the second set. They led 19-12 when Farmington went on a 6-0 run to make the score 19-18. The teams traded a few points then OHS went up 24-20. The Tigers scored three points before Owatonna closed it out 25-23.

The Tigers (12-16) controlled most of the third set in winning 25-15. Farmington jumped ahead 10-5 in the fourth set. Owatonna (5-23) went on a 6-0 run to grab the lead 11-10. The set was tied at each point from 14-14 to 17-17. FHS went on a 7-0 from that point to put the Huskies' season on the brink. Owatonna scored a few points before Farmington closed the night with a 25-20 fourth set win.

Madole led OHS with about 12 kills and several blocks. Hagen had almost ten kills and numerous great digs. Livingston had a solid fourth set. Butler, Lanie Schuster, and Jenna Gleason all added kills. Kialee Kleeberger and Haylee Mullenbach had strong nights digging.

Vetsch handled the setting. Farmington's strong serving left her scrambling to the get to the ball at times after the initial pass.

Sophomores Bailey Manderfeld and Moriah Noeldner rounded out the varsity roster. Coaches included Jason Kaytor, Tai Tolle, Eric Oppegard, and Rachel Malo.

The Tigers had four players with about ten-plus kills with Charlotte Nelson leading the pack with about 18. Paige Kindseth, Erika Krei, and Hailey Hagedorn were the others. Farmington will go to second-seed Lakeville North Friday, October 25 for the quarterfinals.