Detroit Lakes Volleyball after winning the 2022 Consolation Championship at the State Volleyball Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center on November 12, 2022 (Photo: Zeke Fuhrman)
ST. PAUL, MN (KDLM) – Detroit Lakes volleyball ended their season with a three-set sweep of the Mahtomedi Zephyrs in the Class AAA State Consolation Championship game at the Xcel Energy Center on Saturday morning.
“These senior girls are amazing.” said coach Lynnsey after the game. “To come out and lose our first appearance in State by two points in five sets, then come out and sweep these next two opponents was huge. It’s huge for our seniors, and it’s big for our juniors and sophomores. They know what it’s like to play on volleyball’s biggest stage. They’re going to come back hungry looking for that championship next year. They’re fighters. To be able to be the leader of this experience, to be a part of it with these girls, has been amazing.”
Senior Jaylnn Gunderson came out strong for DL in Set 1 with six kills in the first 14 Lakers points. The set was tied at 14-14 before the Lakers went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by an emphatic block by Grace Gunderson to give the Lakers a 19-14 lead. Mahtomedi ended the run with a soft touch point at the net to end the Laker run, but Grace Gunderson’s fifth kill of the set gave DL their 20th point. The dominance of the Gundersons (13 combined kills) and seven Zephyr attack errors saw the Lakers cruise to a 25-19 victory in Set 1.
The Lakers jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in set two, but the Zephyrs fought back to take a 7-6 lead. The Lakers retook the lead 8-7 on an ace by Kiah Gloege tied the match 8-8, and a Zephyr attack error gave the Lakers a 9-8 lead. The Zephyrs tied it again at 11-11, but a service error fueled a 4-0 run, forcing Mahtomedi to take a timeout trailing 15-11. The 4-0 Laker run became an 8-0 run and a 19-11 DL advantage before another Zephyr timeout in an attempt to stop Ava Jones’ run as server. The Lakers scored the final 14-0 points of the set to win set 2 25-11.
The Laker run continued into the third set, scoring the first four points for an 18-0 run over two sets. Mahtomedi ended the run with a kill, but a kill by Jaylnn (her 16th of the match) got the Lakers back on track. Grace Gunderson got to double-digit kills with an emphatic spike as the Lakers extended their lead to 9-5. An Ava Jones kill, a Sadie Stroeting block, and another Jaylnn Gunderson spike led to a six-point Laker advantage 12-6 before a Zephyr timeout. Gunderson finished with 21 kills (on 33 attempts). Five straight Laker points out of the timeout. Zephyr timeouts didn’t affect the Lakers all morning as they cruised to a 25-18 win.
“We’re very happy we won, but it’s bittersweet.” said senior Olivia Clark-Burnette after the match. “This is the last time we’ll all play together. We knew it would happen, but we’re still a little sad. This whole experience has been crazy. We had a blast getting together to play one last time.”
“It didn’t want my last game to be a loss,” said Jalynn Gunderson. “We fought hard as a team. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself. The original goal was to come down to State. Even though we didn’t get that championship, we’re still coming home with a trophy. Not many players can say their final game was a win.”
The Lakers finish the season 23-5 overall. 22 of the Lakers’ 23 wins were three-set sweeps.
SETS:
DL – 25 25 25
MHS – 21 11 19
LAKER STATS: Daggett 2 kills, 3 block assists, 2 blocks; Gloege 2 aces, 2 digs; 3 kills, 1 dig, 2 block assists; Thielen 4 digs; Clark-Burnette 1 assist, 5 digs; J. Gunderson 21 kills, 6 digs, 1 aces; Jones 1 kill, 34 assists, 6 digs, 2 aces; Stroeing 1 kill, 2 block assists, 1 dig; G. Gunderson 14 kills, 2 assists, 11 digs, 1 block assist.
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