Laker Volleyball Loses to Kasson Mantorville 3-2 at State Tournament

ST. PAUL (KDLM) – In their first-ever state tournament appearance, the Laker volleyball team saw their state championship dreams end against Kasson-Mantorville in the first round of the state tournament on Wednesday, falling to the Komets 3-2.The Lakers got off to a good start in the first set leading at one point 18-10. The Komets were able to get back into that first set, but the Lakers closed the door on the Komets when Sadie Stroeing got a block to win the set 25-21.Detroit Lakes and Kasson-Mantorville went back and forth in the second set. Late in the second set, the Lakers and the Komets were tied at 20-20 when the Komets took the lead for good thanks to back-to-back kills by Ella Babcock that forced the Lakers to take a timeout with the Komets leading 22-20. The Komets scored first out of the timeout and outscored the Lakers in the second set 25-21.Kasson-Mantorville was buzzing in the third set and jumped to a 14-5 lead. Detroit Lakes could not overcome that deficit, and the Komets went on to take the third set 25-11.The Lakers found their groove in the fourth set despite falling behind 7-3. DL outscored the Komets 6-2 and tied the game at 9-9. DL traded punches with the Komets, and the score was tied at 18-18 when the Lakers took the lead for good behind solid play from junior setter Ava Jones. The Lakers went on to win the fourth set 25-19.Detroit Lakes jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set. The head coach for Kasson-Mantorville, Larry Hegerle, called a timeout to get his team back on track. The Komets outscored the Lakers 7-2 after the time out and jumped out to an 8-6 lead. That run forced Detroit Lakes head coach Lynnsey Machakaire to call her first time out. The Komets grew their lead even larger after the timeout and scored the next three points taking the lead 11-6. Coach Machakaire called her second and final timeout with the Lakers down 11-6. The Lakers cut the deficit to 14-13 after the timeout. The Komets won the game on an attack error by the Lakers, with Whitney Deno scoring the winning point for the Komets.Jalynn Gunderson led Detroit Lakes in kills with 16. Grace Gunderson finished second in kills with 14. Ava Jones finished the match with 29 assists. Sadie Stroeing led the team in aces with three. Olivia Clark-Burnette appeared in her first game since the first round of the section playoffs and finished the game with a team-high 17 digs.The #2 Komets advance to the next state championship round and will take on #3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the semifinals. Benilde snuck past Monticello 3-2 to advance.The Lakers will now look to win the consolation championship as they play Monticello on Friday at 11 am in a win-or-go-home matchup. That game will also be played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.Detroit Lakes Stats:Jalynn Gunderson had 16 kills, one assist, 13 digs, four blocksGrace Gunderson had 14 kills and 13 digsHelena Daggett 3 kills, four digs, and three blocksRylee Johnson 2 kills, one digAva Jones 1 kill, 29 assists, two aces, nine digsSadie Stroeing 1 kill three acesMaddy Bellanger 1 ace 7 digsOlivia Clark-Burnette 1 assist, 17 digsKiah Gloege 1 ace 5 digs