Chatfield volleyball entered its week having already gone four sets twice (wins over FC and L-A). The Gophers played R-P and then St. Charles, going extra volleyball both matches. They first trekked to take on the Trojans, whose first three TRC matches also went four sets. Game one was a side-out clinic, with ten ties up to 14-14. Chatfield rode senior middle hitter Paige Erickson (8 kills in the game) to a 25-20 win. The Gophers hitting seemed superior enough to overwhelm R-P. But then the Trojans controlled game two and three with their defensive quickness and scrappiness. Chatfield was out of sorts offensively. R-P led 20-10 and took game two 25-20. Kaylee Ruberg had 5 kills and 6 digs in the set. Game three fell easier, 25-16. After looking offensively better in game one, Chatfield trailed 2-1. Their offense then found traction, as 6’0” junior middle hitter Zayda Priebe had six kills in game four. Her work helped the Gophers to a 25-17 win. Chatfield rode that momentum into set five, building a 13-8 lead. But then bam, five unanswered by R-P and a 13-13 tie. The Trojans then errored on an attack and Devann Clemens’ ace ended the wild match. Coming back from down 2-1, Chatfield prevailed 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 15-13). The Gophers scored 101 points, R-P 100! Erickson had a career-high 20 kills with four blocks. Priebe (14 kills, 4 blks) and Peyton Berg (7 kills, 27 digs) were big help. Sydney Allen (25 assists) and Clemens (16 assists) keyed the 6-2 attack. Shelby Nolan (20 digs) and Abi Hinckley (14 digs) aided the Chatfield defense. Ruberg (12 kills, 22 digs) and Isabelle Kahoun (24 assists, 23 digs) led R-P. Alyvia Eide (18 digs), Elly Malone (15 digs), and Hailey Jenkins (15 digs) gave the Trojans five with double digit digs. The Gophers had 51 kills, R-P 27. R-P had six service errors, Chatfield 15. Chatfield then hosted rival St. Charles. It was the Zayda Priebe show. The long hitter had eight kills in game one, a 25-21 Gopher win. The Saints led all of game two, winning 25-19 to tie the match 1-1. Priebe then had six more kills in game three, as Chatfield staved off early deficits for a 25-22 win. In game four, the Gophers trailed 12-8, but got to even at 13-13, and pulled out the win 25-21. Molly Thomas’ group prevailed 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 25-21). Preibe (career-best 21 kills, 4 blks) had a huge match. Erickson (11 kills, 4 blks), S-Allen (19 assists, 10 digs), Berg (10 digs, 5 aces), Clemens (20 assists), Hinckley (13 digs), and Nolan (10 digs) made it a team effort. The Gophers (4-1) have won four straight.
Gophers Beats R-P in Five Sets, SC in Four
