Laker Volleyball Overcomes 0-2 deficit, advances to State for first time in program history

PERHAM, MN (KDLM) – The 2022 Detroit Lakes Laker volleyball season has been a season full of goals.

“We had this piece of paper at the start of the season,” senior Jalynn Gunderson told KDLM earlier this week. “We wanted to be undefeated (the Lakers were a perfect 9-0 at home this year), we wanted the top seed in the section tournament, and we wanted to play in the section championship. The only thing left on our list is to get to State.”

On Thursday, the Lakers crossed the final thing off their list, rallying to beat rival Alexandria 3-2 in thrilling fashion to win the first section title in program history.

“It was intense,” said head coach Lynnsey Machakaire. “You don’t see a reverse sweep very often. It’s definitely one for the history books.”

The Lakers entered Thursday’s section final with arguably the best team in school history: a 20-win team with two All-State players in the DI-bound Gunderson and junior Ava Jones, who holds the program’s all-time assist record.

The Lakers have also had documented struggles against their opponent Alexandria…a team they haven’t beaten since making their first jump to 8AAA in 2011. Their most recent loss to Alexandria was a 3-1 loss in last year’s semifinal round.

Since then: Detroit Lakes has only lost four times.

Early on, Alexandria appeared positioned to eliminate the Lakers again, taking a hard-fought first set 31-29, then overcoming a 20-15 deficit to win the second set 25-23 to put DL in an 0-2 hole. Even with the Cards leading the third set 21-18, the Lakers didn’t stop fighting.

“We all believe in this team,” said junior Helena Daggett after the game. “Even though we were down by so much, we knew that we could come back. They gave us an opportunity and we took it.”

Alexandria gave up three points with unforced errors to tie the game at 21-21, then Daggett recorded a kill that gave the Lakers the lead 22-21. Three more unforced errors gave the Lakers a 25-22 win in the third set to keep their season alive.

The fourth set would go to extras tied at 24-24. Junior Grace Gunderson was huge down the stretch, clinching the final three points of the set, including the set-ending kill to win 26-24. Grace would finish the match with 26 kills.

The Lakers carried their two-set winning momentum into the fifth set, jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead, and didn’t look back…taking the fifth and final set 15-6, clinching their first-ever state tournament berth.

“This feels amazing,” said senior Maddy Bellanger. “I’ve dreamt of going to state in volleyball since I was a little kid. It’s insane that we were the team to do it. As a senior, I didn’t want the ball to drop. When we were down those two sets, I just wanted to keep believing that we could make the dream.”

Bellanger has now been to state in three different Laker sports: softball in 2019, basketball last spring, and now volleyball.

“This team has come so far over the last year,” said head coach Lynnsey Machakaire. “I don’t know if we win a match like this last year. We would have felt the adversity, shut down, and been done. But so many things are different this year. It’s the exact same team, but what I’ve seen with these girls…you’ve heard with their talking, you see it on the floor…we finally have a group of people that are coming together with one common goal and it doesn’t matter who you are and what you’re doing. These girls have found a true family and a true team. That’s what being a team and a family is about: it’s about supporting each other during our darkest times and being there for each other during our highest times as well. These girls came to fight. And when it came to set five, they said ‘we’re ready’.”

For the Cardinals, a second-consecutive section finals loss. They haven’t been to the state tournament since 2009.

The Class AAA State Volleyball tournament begins on Wednesday, November 9th at the Xcel Energy Center. Seeds will be released this weekend. The Lakers will play at either 5 pm or 7 pm depending on seeding.

The @LakerVolley Section 8AAA Champions #LakerPride #ChampionsinLife @DLPublicSchools @DLtribSports @KdlmSports pic.twitter.com/C8OD5P8A8l

— Detroit Lakes High (@DetLakesHigh) November 4, 2022

Set 1: 31-29 Alex

Set 2: 25-23 Alex

Set 3: 25-22 DL

Set 4: 26-24 DL

Set 5: 15-6 DL

Laker stats: Kills-J. Gunderson 29, G. Gunderson 26, Johnson 5, Daggett 4. Aces-Jones 3, J. Gunderson 2, G. Gunderson 1, Bellanger 1. Digs- J. Gunderson 21, Jones 17, G. Gunderson 14, Bellanger 10, Thielen 9, Gloege 6. Blocks – J. Gunderson 3, Johnson 3, Jones 3, Daggett 2. Assists – Jones 57