Volleyball: #4 Gophers Storm Past #3 Warriors, Seize Control of TRC

It was impressive. In the TRC’s biggest volleyball match between its co-leaders, #4 in Class AA Chatfield (6-0, 15-2) swept #3 in Class AA Caledonia (6-0, 17-1). The scores were tight. But the Gophers made play after play and pushed past a long, talented, and well-coached Warrior team. It was tough to say who Chatfield’s top player was. High-jumping Jaelyn LaPlante hitting the ball, what with her team-high 17 kills (and 8 digs)? Or maybe versatile setter/hitter Harper Goldsmith, and her triple-double (11 kills, 18 assists, 13 digs)? Or maybe freshman libero Cora Bicknese and her superb point-saving defensive effort (34 digs)?

Goldsmith made a couple keys plays in set one, scoring with a setter-attack-kill to put Chatfield up 21-19, later putting away a one-timer for a 23-20 Gopher lead. LaPlante added two kills in Chatfield’s 4-0 run to end the game. They took the set 25-20. Set two it was senior Evy Goldsmith making key plays. She put away the final three points by kill to push Chatfield to a 25-23 win, a 2-0 lead. Said game had 15 ties and Caledonia led most of the way including 23-22. By midway through game three, Chatfield had the momentum and a bit of the air was out of Caledonia’s gym. But Scott Koepke’s group scraped. Behind Logan Koepke’s seven-kill set, team Cal, despite trailing most of the game, drew even at 19-19 and 21-21. But LaPlante then scored with back-to-back kills and H-Goldsmith added a bump-kill for a 24-21 lead. The Warriors last effort was back-to-back combo blocks by Sienna Augedahl and Liv Myhre. They inched to down 24-23. But H-Goldmith ended the match with a right-side kill.

In some high-level volleyball, Chatfield prevailed 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23). E-Goldsmith (10 kills), Hannah Tweten (16 assists, 9 digs), and Lexi Hinckley (7 digs, 3 aces) helped Chatfield’s big three. Koepke (16 kills, 17 digs) paced Caledonia with big help from libero Emme Kittleson (22 digs) and setter Emma Rommes (32 assists, 8 digs). Myhre (8 kills) and Braelyn Lange (5 kills) helped on “O.” Chatfield out-killed the Warriors 43-35 and out-aced them 5-1. Chat had just one receive error. The Gophers held 78 leads, Caledonia 32, with 31 ties. Caledonia was two days removed from a nice come-back five-set win over #8 in AA Zumbrota-Mazeppa on the road (See “Non-Conference Volleyball”). Chatfield (7-0, 16-2) now leads Caledonia (6-1, 17-2) and FC (7-1, 16-5) in the TRC race.

Both Warrior losses are to Chatfield. Kristi Rindels’ Gophers have league matches with R-P, L-A, and W-K left. Only R-P is above five hundred overall. The TRC is Chatfield’s to lose. The Gophers week began with a non-conference win over the Trojans, 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-12). LaPlante (30 kills on .422 hitting, 13 digs) and Bicknese (7 assists, 37 digs, 24-24 serving, 4 aces) going off and H-Goldsmith (13 kills, 26 assists, 7 digs) surpassing 1,000 career assists highlighted the affair. Trindy Barkeim (10 kills), Tweten (26 assists, 7 digs, 23-25 serving, 3 aces), Hinckley (7 digs), and E-Goldsmith (6 kills) helped. Torryn Schneider (18 digs), Tayler Helgemoe (9 kills, 5 ace blocks), Lindsey Hoiness (3 kills, 13 digs), Ava Drazkowski (11 assists, 12 digs), Josie Brown (3 kills, 9 digs), and Kayla Magin (8 assists) paced R-P (3-4, 10-8).