Photo by Paul Trende
Caledonia volleyball had two matches on the week. The second was the marquee one. The Warriors, ranked #10 in AA, hosted Decorah, ranked #4 in Class 4A in Iowa. The Vikings (8-0) came in having won the Charles City tournament days earlier. A classic volleyball battle ensured. It went five sets. Four were decided by the minimum numbers of points, two, while the other was decided by just three. In game one, Scott Koepke’s Warriors mostly trailed early. Down 16-12, they rallied for a 6-0 run. Logan Koepke had four kills in the span, and Liv Myhre a big block of 6’2” MH Amelia Dugger, a South Dakota signee. But up 18-16, Caledonia ceded the next four points to trail 20-18. Down 21-20, the Warriors scored five of the final six. A Myhre cross-court winner and an Emma Rommes ace sealed the set. Caledonia took game one 25-22. Koepke (unofficially) had eight kills. It was the only set not decided by two points. The Warriors again trailed early in game two, including spotting Decorah a 6-0 lead. Dugger was unstoppable in that span, slamming down three straight kills. But despite the deficit, Caledonia had things tied by 10-10. It was the first of nine ties in the set. The Warriors trailed 22-19, but scored four straight points to lead 23-22. Three ties later, and in extra volleyball, the score was 25-25. But Warrior senior Paige Klug then got credit for the final two kills of the match, the last courtesy of a scramble assist by Koepke. For the second time in as many sets, the Warrior girls rallied from behind to post a win, this time 27-25. Dugger had eight kills in the set for the Vikings. But after those two close games, one had to think Decorah would get a set. Caledonia led much of game three and were seemingly going to nix that thought. But the Vikings tied the match at 17-17 and went ahead for good at 19-18. Cal was down 24-20, but staved off three set points to make it 24-23. But a Dugger tip-kill ended the rally and gave the Vikings their first set, 25-23. Game four had the same late-game script. Decorah went ahead for good at 15-14. Caledonia again trailed by multiple points very late (23-19) only to rally to make it very interesting. They scored four in a row to tie the game at 23-23. Jovial King had two aces in the spurt, and Koepke two kills. But a Warrior service error put Decorah at set point (24-23). Caledonia then staved off three big attacks before Viking Sami Mount recorded a kill. It gave Decorah its second straight 25-23 win. The match, tied 2-2, moved to a fifth set. Said game had six early ties before the Warriors garnered a little breathing room with 3-0 run to lead 10-7. But finishing things out, like the entire match itself, was a test in resiliency. The Vikings staved off three game/match points; 14-11, 14-12, and 14-13. A setter attack-kill by Emma Wold knotted the set 14-14! Klug and Dugger then scored opposing kills, tying the game 15-15. But a mis-timed Viking attack resulted in one Warrior point, a 16-15 lead. And finally, after all the big shots (particularly by Dugger and Koepke), and all the offensive and defensive strategery, all the hustle, the match ended unconventionally. Koepke did what she could with a set to get the ball over, and her punch shot found the floor. In an excellent, exhausting early season match, the Warriors grabbed a very hard-fought win, 3-2 (25-22, 27-25, 23-25, 23-25, 17-15). Koepke (25 kills, 18 digs) led the Warrior offense, with help from Klug (9 kills, 17 digs) and Myhre (10 kills, 7 total blks). King (23 assists, 14 digs, 26-29 serving, 4 aces) and Rommes (20 assists) split the setting. Emme Kittleson (20 digs, 20-20 serving) and Kennedy Hansen (12 digs) did big defensive work for Caledonia. Decorah was offensively led by Dugger (20 kills) with help from Haley Gossman (10 kills, 17 digs, 6 blks). Defenders Dahlyn Headington (27 digs) and Lani Hubka (25 digs) keyed a strong Viking defense. The Warriors also beat St. Charles 3-0 (25-11, 28-26, 25-13) earlier in the week in their first conference game. Myhre (9 kills, 3 blks), Klug (6 kills, 5 digs, 21-23 serving, 7 aces), Koepke (8 kills, 6 digs), Rommes (11 assists), King (14 assists, 7 digs), and Braelyn Lange (5 kills, 5 digs) did work. Caledonia (#10 in AA) is 1-0, 3-0 on the season.