Central Box Score

Carleton Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - The Northland College LumberJills volleyball squad traveled to the North Star State this weekend to take on the Central College Dutch.  Proudly dressed in the orange and navy the Jills dropped three hard fought sets to start the night off.  Although victory was slightly out of reach the ladies showed tremendous signs of team building as the point differential was never too great. 
 
The Jills fell behind by two quick kills only to come back with fire.  The ladies took advantage of an error by the Dutch followed by a few solid kills by Alaina Donovan (Mercer, Wis.).  Dianna Martin (Minneapolis, Minn.) set the Jills two points ahead with a dazzling service ace and at this point -the spirits were high.  Unfortunately soon after the match came to an intense 7-7 split.  The Jills would continue to tally more points upon the score board but fell short as the Dutch took control henceforth. 
 
Taylor Viegut (Abbotsford, Wis.) gave the Jills a glimmer of hope with an outstanding kill, assisted by Megan Zynda (Parker, Ariz.), to keep the game at a suspenseful 9-8.  However, from that moment on the Dutch girls jumped into an extra gear only to leave the Jills to climb but not reach the top.  The first set ended with a score of 25-13 in favor of the Dutch. 
               
When the second set rolled around the Jills and the Dutch traded a few points back and forth in the first few minutes and it seemed that the game would be neck and neck until the end.  Unfortunately, due to a few attack errors and impressive kills reigning from the other side the Jills would need to regroup for the third set, the second match ending in disappointing score of 25-9.
               
The third set was upon the Jills and it was evident they were not going down easy.  Although the match ended in a 25-19 loss for our ladies it was apparent that they were beginning to get together and work through adversity. 
 
Gabby Jukkala (Pelkie, Mich.) and Lily Sandstrom (Brookfield, Wis.) sent a few thunderous kills spiraling over the net to pound upon the floor of the Dutch and take control of the game for a period of time.  The set led to a nail biting score of 19-17 and with one kill to set the Dutch ahead the Jill's flame began to flicker out.  The Dutch, however, were given barely any breathing room as Jill's junior, Dianna Martin (Minneapolis, Minn.), served up a flawless service ace to uplift the team in the remaining minutes of the match.  The Dutch ended up stealing the game away in the end but, the Jills for certain can keep their heads held high as they showed no signs of giving up. 
 
In the second series of the night the Northland College LumberJills faced the Knights of Carleton College.  Unfortunately the ladies could not pull out a win but they never once backed down against their strong opponents.  With every touch of the ball the Jills find themselves growing as a young team in the face of a competitive schedule. 
 
Gabby Jukkala (Pelkie, Mich.) tied the game at one point a piece early on but from that point forward the Knights would keep the lead with a convincing hand.  The Jills found themselves in peril early and not too far into the game head coach Curt Sivertsen called for a timeout and the girls attempted to regroup.  After the few moments of motivation the Jills came out with an error but bounced back momentarily with a few kills and even jumping on their opponent after errors from their side. 
 
Once again Gabby Jukkala (Pelkie, Mich.) showed signs of life with a few kills along with a service ace coming from the hand of Alaina Donovan (Mercer, Wis.). The fighting Jills climbed up on the score board within a few points of the Knights with a shrilling kill by Erin Roembke (Cedarburg, Wis.), assisted by Diana Martin (Minneapolis, Minn.).  However, this would not be enough to catch the Knights.  The score sat at 19-12 Knights and from then on it was only a matter of minutes before it was over.  With kill after kill the Knights toppled over the Jills by a score of 25-15.
 
In the second set it seemed as though the Jills would fare better.  They jumped on the Knights quick by taking advantage of two attack errors and two splendid kills by Tayler Viegut (Abbotsford, Wis.).  The Jills would hold the lead early in the game with four thunderous points until the Knights battled back with a few kills and unfortunate human errors on behalf of the Jills.  The Knights seemed to take control as they were on top of the Jills attack and blocking their attempts at points later on in the game. 
 
The box score soon became littered with errors which spelled doom for the Jills.  Erin Roembke (Cedarburg, Wis.), however, came up big for the Jills with a kill in the later minutes of the game which shed some light upon the Jills half of the court but indeed it was not enough.  Once again errors and mental mistakes were the downfall of the Jills in the second set. This portion of the game ended in a hard 25-13 loss.
               
The third and final set between the Jills and Knights played out similar to the two previous with the Jills taking a fall 25-14.  The veteran ladies on the team were striving hard to rally their team to victory and their younger teammates followed diligently.  Regrettably in the end the Jills fell short of a victory in the state of Minnesota tonight.  It is still early in the season for our ladies and time and a hard work ethic is on their side.  Each and every game is used as a learning experience, win or lose, and with the leadership cap within this team it is likely to see better results in the future.  The Jills will finish their weekend tomorrow against the Linfield Wildcats and the Bethel Royals.